The Perfect Warrior
by LadyScience
Summary: Sequel to Back from China. Ranma and Akane's relationship continues to grow but there are new questions to answer. What constitutes hot water? Where is Nodoka? How can Nabiki make more money? What is the Scroll of the Perfect Warrior and why is it so dangerous?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - ** Yup here it is the usually blah blah blah about how I don't own Ranma 1/2, never have and never will.

**AN: **Well my first experience posting a fanfic was fun so I decided to do a sequel to Back From China. I want to try my hand at a larger over arc that will build as the story progresses. I love fluff so that will still show up regularly.

Chapter 1 – A little yellow bikini

Summer break was getting ready to start and everyone was talking about the new waterpark that had opened recently in town. Akane and Ranma were sitting outside by what had become their tree during lunch joined by both of their friends. Daisuke and Yuke were now dating and Hiroshi had finally asked out Mokoto. Things had been unusually quiet for once, Ranma had been goaded into a couple of challenges such as martial arts painting and had suddenly been needed to fill in on the Bojutsu team. The painting competition was mostly just a mess and Ranma had suffered Akane's wrath when he accidently got paint on her favorite skirt. While for the first time Akane and Soun had worked together to train him for the Bojutsu meet. Ranma favored hand to hand combat but had picked up the staff techniques quickly and as usual added his own flourish.

"Ranma are you even listening to us?"

Ranma looked up at the group and tried to figure out who had spoken to him. "Um… what?"

Hiroshi shook his head at his friend. "We are talking about going to the new waterpark on Saturday. Do you and Akane want to go?"

Ranma looked over at Akane who shrugged, "I don't know." He returned to focusing on eating his lunch.

Akane was really confused; he loved to swim and was really good at it. She had heard that the new park had a large wave pool and slides. It seemed like something Ranma would jump at the chance to go to. "What the matter? Why wouldn't you want to go?"

"If you really want to go I guess we can."

"Alright, it is decided." Hiroshi started making plans to meet up with the others at the entrance to the park. "And I think the girls should have to wear bikinis." This got him smacked on the back of the head by Mokoto.

"We'll wear whatever we want to wear."

Yuke piped up, "Ha, we would only wear bikinis if the guys wore speedos like the swim team."

"No way, those things look ridiculous, right Ranma?"

"Um… sure."

"You don't wear those to swim in do you?"

"No"

"Swim trunks are way more comfortable, right?"

"I guess."

The group stopped debating swimwear to stare at Ranma. Akane was tight lipped and avoiding looking at their friends. Hiroshi was the first to figure it out. "You have to be a girl to swim, don't you? So do you wear a girl's bathing suit?"

Daisuke didn't bother to let Ranma answer, "Do you borrow one of Akane's or do you have your own?" He was grinning widely then his looked turned a little too eager, "Do you own a bikini?"

"Stop looking at me like that… I'm a guy!" Ranma stood up and stalked off.

"What's the problem? We all know what he looks like as a girl and we have seen him in a leotard and a cheerleading outfit. "

"Don't forget the bunny suit."

The girls rolled their eyes as the two guys continued to list off the various female outfits that they had seen Ranma in, when they moved on to how many times they had seen their friend's female chest they both got smacked in the head for their efforts.

Yuke looked at Akane, "Talk to him ok. Let him know that we really don't care. It might be weird at first but honestly he can't avoid swimming the rest of his life just because he might have to wear a girl's suit."

"Oh he swims, he even has a couple of suits. Our family goes to the beach a few of times a year. It didn't take him long to figure out that it was just easier to go as a girl."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't know for sure but this would be the first time going with people from school and just hanging out as a girl. His mindset is completely different when it is for a challenge."

"Maybe we should challenge him."

"Hiroshi, he would not actually accept a challenge from a non-martial artist. It would be against his honor."

The end of lunch bell rang and the group gathered their things and went back inside. Akane didn't see Ranma. Since her fight with Kodachi and their continued training together, he had been less preoccupied with knowing she was okay every minute of every day. The realignment of his chi through acupuncture and the fact that they actually tried to tell each other when something was bothering them had help him feel less panicked. He would still check on her at night, sometimes she suspected that it was just an excuse to get a goodnight kiss from her but she didn't care.

Meanwhile, Ranma was sulking and muttering to himself. "Those two will just stare at me. I hate that." The beach wasn't so bad, he didn't know most of the people there and Akane's family was used to seeing him as a girl. If he had to go maybe he would just wear the one piece suit that he had Kasumi embroider BOY on the front. "That would at least remind them every time they stared at my chest." He heard the bell and turned to head to class. He noticed Akane walking away from him in one of the school hallways, she was on her way to Home Ec and he had history. They were talking about samurai right now so he didn't mind paying at least a small amount of attention in class. Mr. Tendo knew how use a samurai sword, it might be worth learning. The Anything Goes schools were supposed to one day merge so learning both approaches would be expected. He sat in class mentally listing the various weapons that Mr. Tendo might be able to train him to use.

"Mr. Saotome?"

"Huh? What?"

"Daydreaming again?"

"Um… no."

"Good then you should be able to tell me a little bit about the samurai armor."

Ranma thought quickly to the armor favored by Mr. Tendo and described everything he could remember.

"Ok fine, you either were paying attention or already knew most of the information."

_Whew. That was a close one._

Ranma met up with Akane for their last class of the day. She gave him a worried look and he smiled at her to let her know he wasn't upset, he really did hate to see her worried about him over something so small like swimming as a girl. Class went by quickly and soon they were ready to head home. Their normal routine was to walk home together, put their school stuff away and meet in the dojo for training. After training, bath or dinner, which ever was ready first, and finally homework. He hated homework but now that Akane and he did it together it, wasn't so bad. Over the past term she had been able to tell when he was getting too frustrated and would suggest breaks.

Once they were clear of the school grounds Akane grabbed his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "If you don't want to go to the water park, we don't have to."

"I don't know. It's just kinda weird to think about ya know, hanging out with all of them as a girl. On purpose."

"They asked me to tell you that they don't care. I mean I guess with the number of times you have gotten splashed at school or purposely been a girl in front of a crowd; they are kind of used to it. They have all known for a year now."

"Yeah I guess so. I am not wearing a bikini."

Akane giggled. "Ah that's too bad, what if I wanted to see you in one?"

"Not unless you wear one too."

Akane gave him a challenging look and he immediately regretted his words. He was now very afraid he might have to wear one. "I do own a really cute yellow one." She turned to him with a deceptively pleasant smile.

"I know." Ranma tensed to run away soon. She was not going to like the bit of information he was about to reveal.

"What? I haven't wore it around you. How do you know?"

Ranma reached up to scratched the back of his head. "Well you know when I was training to fight against Ryu and had to master the Umi-Sen Ken?"

Akane just glared at him. That particular training had driven the family crazy as Ranma was constantly trying to sneak around and move items or steal things in the house. He had rearranged her drawers and eventually manage to remove the floor supports from the dining room. "You are a pervert!"

"I put it back." He was having trouble not smiling, he would definitely get pummeled if he cracked a smile.

"You took it?"

_Whoops, wrong thing to say_. He was in trouble. If he was going to get hit he might as well completely deserve it. "Only for a little while."

"Why?"

"To see if it looked good on me but the chest was too small."

"WHAT?" Ranma took off running moving away from her as fast and he could. "GET BACK HERE YOU PERVERT." She bolted after him and chased him through town. She saw him turn and venture through the park jumping around and over equipment and the wall. She followed him every step of the way. She need to find a way to either get him to stop or she need to get ahead of him. _Time to fight dirty._ She jump over the seesaw and purposefully missed, throwing her hands out in front of her to catch herself and yelling out as if she were hurt.

Ranma predictably stopped and came rushing back. She knew he no longer panicked at the thought of her being injured but he still worried and she knew he would stop running.

"Are you ok? You shouldn't have tried to follow everything I did. You know you are more of a … UMPH." Ranma heard Akane yell 'An opening' and then hit the ground hard when Akane kicked him backwards. He'd been tricked. He lay there a little dazed but he couldn't help but smile. _Damn that was sneaky._ He was really proud of how much better she was getting as a result of their training together.

Akane stood over him as he smiled. She just really couldn't stay mad at him for long anymore. "What are you smiling about?"

"You are pretty amazing you know that."

Akane blushed even though Ranma praised her more than he used to she was still not completely used to it. Especially when he said things like that, it made her feel warm inside. While she was standing there with a stunned look on her face he yanked her down on top of him and pulled her mouth to his.

She pulled back from the kiss too quickly for Ranma's liking. He pouted and she laughed.

"Parents won't want to bring their kids here if we are making out by the swings."

"Fine."

He sounded gruff but she could see the humor in his eyes. "Let's head home."

When they got home they put their stuff away and met in the dojo for daily training. These days whenever they sparred Ranma would switch between dodging, blocking and actually hitting back. He always held back and still didn't like to punch or kick her but he would use an open palm and even push her back a little or pull her off balance to show her weaknesses in her attacks. She enjoyed when he would advance on her and make her block and dodge as well. She could feel herself improving, both in strength and speed. It had taken a while for her to realize that after a year of Ranma dodging her attacks she had gained considerable accuracy and speed to go with her strength.

Ranma had started pushing Akane harder after her fight with Kodachi. As predicted Kodachi hadn't completely given up on gaining Ranma's attention but she did seem a little more scared of Akane. The last time they had encountered the girl, Akane only had to glare at her darkly and start to advance before she flipped away yelling something about Akane not always being around to keep her from Ranma. She had been in such a good mood after the encounter that she splashed her surprised fiancé with cold water and took her to the ice cream parlor for parfaits.

The timer buzzed that signaled the end of their sparring. Using a timer had been an idea of Ranma's, they had to stop and bow, then she had to stay quiet while he went over anything she needed to work on. He would move her through exercises to work on a few of the improvements needed and they would finish with a kata.

"Um… Ranma?"

_Uh oh_. He knew that tone of voice, she wanted something. "Huh?"

"Can I learn the kata you were doing this past weekend?" She had watched him practicing, a habit she enjoyed as it allowed her to not only watch the way he pushed himself to improve but also she found watching him move at his speed very sexy.

"Maybe, it's a difficult one. I made it up for myself, it needs lots of speed. In order to get the double kick in the middle you have to have enough momentum to make it all the way around your body because there will be a short time when both of your feet are off the ground." He had started pacing around the dojo as he talked.

Akane was quietly listening to him, she was actually afraid if she interrupted him, he would get flustered. He rarely spoke this long. He sounded like a real teacher and she loved it.

He turned to face her briefly. "We might have to bring out a mat because it is likely you will end up on your head trying to learn that part. It isn't really a good one to end with but maybe we can work on it instead of sparring this week. If I take out the kick and replace it with one that requires less speed we can work on the rest of the routine."

"The kick looks really neat."

"I really like it and it is useful in a fight but you will have to master its parts first before it can all be put together. I will get you there. Trust me."

"I do trust you." She smiled at him and then laughed as he did the double kick landing in front of her and grabbing her unbelievably fast for a kiss.

It took every bit of her will power not to swoon. Damn it she was a martial artist, she would not go weak in the knees over his little stunt. So what if he had landed a mere few centimeters in front of her; so what if he had grabbed her hips possessively and pulled her to him; so what if he smelled like sweat and wood… she would swoon in her head only. She couldn't help it, she sighed in the back of her throat and leaned into him, putting her hands on his shoulders.

This was too good. He was not letting go until she made him. Not that he would ever push her too far but he would certainly take what he could get and when she went soft in his arms he knew he could go a little further. He licked her lower lip and grinned like a fool when she opened her mouth to him. He bent down, grasping her hips more firmly picked her up and got her to wrap her legs around his waist while he continued his assault on her mouth. Wrapping his arms around her he was able to keep her molded against him.

Outside Nabiki had her trusty camera but for once profit wasn't the first thing she thought about, oh she would get around to it eventually, she always did; but instead she was thinking about finding her own martial artist to date. _Damn that is hot. _It was a small wonder to her that Akane could keep her hands off of him as much as she did. Nabiki was happy for her sister but she was definitely more than a little jealous. She didn't want to take Ranma away, she wasn't exactly interested in a boyfriend who could turn into a girl. However, if she could find a man with Ranma's kind of sex appeal who was more refined and had a decent amount of money she would grab him and never let go.

"NABIKI!"

_Oh shit she caught me. _

Akane happened to open her eyes slightly when Ranma had moved to kissing her neck and saw Nabiki standing there, camera in hand, with a glassy look in her eyes. _What the hell is up with her?_

Nabiki recovered quickly and snapped her camera closed, wiggled her eyebrows and taunted the pair, "That was hot, better not let daddy and Uncle Genma see something like that." She walked away quickly to hide her memory card before they could recover.

Ranma put Akane down, "We better go get cleaned up." They walked back to the house both wondering what school would be like tomorrow or even worse, dinner tonight.

"Kasumi, is there a bath ready?"

"Yes there is and you should both have time before supper to get cleaned up."

"Go ahead Ranma, I might see if I can find out what Nabiki is up to." It was unusual for Nabiki to be caught so easily. Akane hurried to her sister's room.

Akane knocked on Nabiki's door and heard her sister declare that she was too busy for visitors. Frustrated she tried to turn the knob but it was predictably locked. As tempting as it was to break down the door, Nabiki would just make her pay for the damages. "Please don't take those to school tomorrow. Things have been going so well."

"I will do whatever I want, and it was a video, not photos. Not that I can't make a few photos from it like I did before but the video might sell better."

"Before?"

"Now go away little sister, I have important work to do."

Akane stormed to her own room and threw herself on the bed. Hiroshi had finally stopped asking them to sign his photo of them kissing, now their friends would just start asking questions again. _Oh god what if she has any video of her and Ranma while he is female?_

Ranma was thinking similar thoughts while he bathed. Hiroshi thought it was funny one day to ask him how often he kissed Akane. He had shrugged and didn't answer but then Daisuke had to butt in and ask him if he had kissed her while he was a girl. He had tried to insist that they hadn't done that but he was pretty sure his friends didn't believe him.

When they all met for dinner Ranma leaned over to Akane and quietly asked if she found out anything. She quickly shook her head no. He hated to think of all the comments they would hear if Nabiki took any of that to school to sell. Everyone knew that were together by choice now and while they were both finally more comfortable with displays of affection, they kept it pretty mild around their friends. Just some hand holding and they had been caught a couple of times sharing a quick kiss. Frankly they were really careful to keep it to nothing more than what was shown in the pictures that Nabiki had already circulated at the beginning of the term.

Kasumi caught everyone attention by asking about weekend plans.

Akane responded first. "We are going to go to the new water park with our friends on Saturday."

"Oh we got a flyer in the mail for that place." Kasumi gracefully stood up and went to get the paper bringing it back for everyone to see. "See it shows the slides and the wave pool. It even says that there is something called a lazy river."

"It says the water is all heated to 30 degrees." Nabiki pointed to the bottom of the flyer.

Ranma perked up, "Heated water?"

**AN**: For Americans who don't want to pull out a calculator 30 degrees Celsius is about 80 degrees Fahrenheit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Ranma 1/2.

**AN:** Cheat sheet for those who might need it or just like it! I use all Celsius temperatures in this story so here are some converted temps for those whose countries still use Fahrenheit (cough cough us silly Americans).

0C = 32F (freezing point)

20C = 68F

25C = 77F

26C = 78.8F

27C = 80.6F

28C = 82.4F

29C = 84.2F

30C = 86F

37C = 98.6F

40C = 104F

100C = 212F (boiling point)

Chapter 2 - Positive and Negative Controls

"Ranma just think if the water is warm then it could mean you wouldn't have to worry about being a girl." Akane was smiling brightly at him.

Nabiki disrupted his happy thoughts of swimming without worry. "Is 30 degrees warm enough? I mean the bath houses heat their water to 40 degrees."

Ranma frowned and tried to think of any times when he might have encountered lukewarm water and what had happened.

"Maybe it has to be above body temperature to be a boy."

Ranma looked at his pop and started to ask if he had ever tried to find out and saw him trying to take his rice. "Stop that!" He snatched back the bowl and ate it quickly.

Akane elbowed Ranma, "Maybe we should try to figure it out."

"Yeah ok."

"You two really should do that, I mean Ranma needs to know what kind of swimsuit to wear on Saturday." Nabiki chimed in.

Ranma just rolled his eyes at her and got up from the table. "Thank you for dinner Kasumi."

"Oh you are welcome Ranma."

When he disappeared upstairs Akane turned to Nabiki, "Why do you have to do that? He is really unsure about going at all."

"I didn't want him to get his hopes up or worse go and get kicked out because he didn't wear a proper suit. Honestly I would think you would thank me."

"Too bad he doesn't have any of that waterproof soap. He would really like to go as a guy but Shampoo seems to be the only one who can get some sent here."

"Speaking of our favorite Amazons. I heard the Cat Café is for sale. Think they are finally going home?"

"I don't know, Ranma hasn't seen Shampoo since just before the fight with Kodachi and he told her that he isn't ever going to marry her."

"You know if she does go home, then Ranma is back to only one fiancé."

"Don't say that out loud."

"Why not?"

"I don't know it seems like a bad omen to say it out loud. More fiancés will come out of the woodwork or something." She glared at Genma as she said this.

"I have made no other arrangements." Huffing as he folded his arms across his chest.

"You know daughter, there is nothing preventing you two from getting married now. No other fiancés, Ranma has made his choice and I couldn't be happier." Soun was crying again.

"Daddy, we already told you, we are not getting married yet. Please, we are finally not fighting often and getting comfortable with each other. You promised to stop trying to force us to get married."

Kasumi smiled sweetly at her father, "Akane is right Daddy, you promised. They are young still and young people want to have a little fun before they get married these days. Besides I told you, if you find a way to get another marriage certificate then I will just misplace that one as well and Nabiki will help me. Right Nabiki?"

"Me? When did I get roped into this?"

"Right now. You are going to take a side without considering the profit and frankly I would be very disappointed in you if you didn't stick up for your sister."

Nabiki stared dumbstruck at Kasumi. _God she sounded just like Mom then._ "Fine, whatever." She stood up and headed for her room. She needed to think about what to do with that video tape she made.

Akane followed shortly behind. "I guess I better go convince Ranma to do his homework."

At the top of the stairs Nabiki startled Akane when she walked up behind her and whispered over her shoulder, "From what I saw in the dojo, you two are going to be begging to get married sooner than you think."

"We are not and don't you dare use what you got to start a betting pool."

"Oh sweetie, the wedding date betting pool started when I sold those pictures of those oh so romantic kisses."

Akane stormed off. _No wonder our friends are always milking us for information about how far we have gone. _She got to the guest room and knocked but there was no reply. Frowning she opened the door and looked inside. "Ranma?"

"Out here." Came his voice from outside the window. She poked her head, looking up she saw his head sticking out from the roof. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking."

"Oh"

"Time for homework?"

She smiled, "Yeah." He didn't put up much of a fight over homework these days. "Seems like you don't mind doing homework anymore." She watched him climb back in the window.

"The breaks are good motivation." He winked at her.

She shook her head as she took his hand, picking up his bag on the way out she pulled him to her room.

After finishing their homework and a couple of enjoyable breaks Ranma was so tired he practically crawled to his futon, and fell asleep quickly.

The next day proved to be easier than expected. As far as they could tell Nabiki hadn't tried to sell the video from last night and nothing crazy occurred. They were on their way home when Akane remembered what Nabiki had told her about the Cat Café.

"Hey Ranma, did you hear that the Cat Café is for sale?"

"Really? Maybe that's why we haven't seen Shampoo."

"I thought she faced possible death if she returned to China."

"Maybe something changed."

"We should stop by the café and see what we can find out."

"Sure."

They saw the For Sale sign outside the café and it wasn't open for business. After knocking on the door they waited a few minutes before they heard a voice from inside. Cologne opened the door and simply said, "I see it is you two."

"Are Shampoo, Mousse and you going back to China?" Ranma asked.

"Mousse went back months ago and you would know that if you ever stopped by to check on Shampoo. I sent her home many weeks ago; she had no reason to be here anymore."

"I'm sorry she was upset but I had to be honest with her and frankly we stayed away because I thought she would hurt Akane."

"I would like to say that you are wrong but I cannot. I sent her back to China because I thought she might do just that and while I abide by Amazon laws I do not want to see my great-granddaughter get blood on her hands. She never should have issued the kiss of death to Akane a year ago anyway. Issuing a kiss of death without knowing prior that the person can fight is against our laws."

"Why didn't you take care of it then?" Akane sounded irritated.

"Well if you will remember I was not here then, also as it turns out Akane can fight so while Shampoo was premature in issuing the kiss, you were able to stand up for yourself. My darling granddaughter has always been impulsive."

Akane took a deep breath, "Elder Cologne, will your tribe kill Shampoo for returning without Ranma?"

"They are not happy with her and she will no longer be considered the strongest, which means she will likely never be able to become a village elder but no she will not be killed."

"What about the kiss of death on me?" Ranma was trying to think of all the possible ways that Shampoo could try to come back after them.

Cologne waved her hand toward Ranma, "That was nullified ages ago. Are you sure you don't want to come be an Amazon husband? You would make a powerful warrior among our men. I imagine that with all the techniques you could learn you would only become more powerful."

"No, I do not."

"And tell me honestly. If Akane were removed from the equation what would your decision be then?"

Ranma stepped in front of Akane and stared at the old ghoul. "If you lay a finger on her I will tear this place apart and if anything happened to her, I would bring down your village stick by stick."

Akane put her hands on Ranma's back and started rubbing the pattern she had been taught by Dr. Tofu to help him relax. They didn't really need a fight with Cologne right now.

"Future son-in-law," Cologne started but at the look Ranma gave her she amended, "Ranma that is what I needed to know. I think I might be able to convince the council of elders that you would be a danger to the tribe if we pursued this further."

"Fine, whatever works to make sure Akane is safe from Shampoo."

"What of your other fiancés?"

"Ukyo and I have reached an understanding and Kodachi isn't a fiancé, she is just crazy. Besides Akane has proven that she can defeat her."

"You would have made an excellent asset to our tribe. I am sorry that you did not choose my granddaughter."

"Thanks I guess. Um, we better get going."

When Cologne had learned the events that took place at Jusenkyo she realized that Ranma needed to remain an ally because to make an enemy of him would be dangerous. If canceling Shampoo's kiss of marriage kept him as an ally then so be it. His protective instincts were too strong towards Akane to risk treating her as an obstacle.

Outside Akane put her arm around Ranma's waist and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, thanks for trying to calm me down."

"You scared me for a minute there. Stick by stick?"

"It was the first thing that came to mind."

"I can't believe that we don't have to deal with Shampoo. I really thought she would try harder and make things miserable for us."

Scratching his head Ranma was quiet for a minute. "Yeah me too."

She reached up and tugged on his pigtail, when he look down at her she pulled him into a light kiss.

"Not that I am complaining but what was that for?"

"Just putting you in a more agreeable mood."

_Danger! _"For what?"

"I want to work on the kata today."

"So resorting to cheating is going to become a regular thing now?"

"Anything goes!"

Ranma laughed loudly. "Yes it does."

As soon as they were home Akane took off to change into her gi. Ranma was in the dojo breaking down the kata into sections to work on. The whole thing took about 5 minutes to run through at his speed but it was going to take a while to get her up to his speed. He found he had trouble telling her no when she wanted to learn something new. Her old strength was back after she had been dehydrated at Jusenkyo and her speed had increased through training. She wasn't even as klutzy as she used to be, working on her gracefulness was still a chore but she didn't trip over her own feet as often anymore.

Thinking back over the last year or so it amazed Ranma how drastically his life kept changing. He stopped traveling all over the place training, he gained a fiancé he hadn't asked for, then a few more. He truly started risking his life for his art, he had learned many new techniques and had almost lost everything that mattered to him. Funny how Akane had slowly become all that mattered. She was temperamental, violent, and had rarely believed his side; but when she wasn't all those things she was sweet, funny and one of his biggest defenders. She stopped seeing his curse, he was Ranma to her either way.

These days she was still a little temperamental and violent but they had promised to listen to each other's side whenever something made them mad or hurt. It was hard sometimes and they still argued but staying mad was just as hard. Most of the time his anger at her had been fueled by thoughts that she couldn't like him, that she would never like him the way he liked her. When they had finally confessed their feelings, out loud, a couple of weeks after returning from China, communicating had started to become easier.

"Ranma you in there?" Akane had entered the dojo and been able to walk up behind Ranma without him noticing. She watched him jump and turn to face her. She rarely could sneak up on him, she couldn't help but laugh a little especially when he blushed lightly. "What were you thinking about?"

"You."

"Thinking perverted thoughts?"

He sneered at her, "No miss nosey. For your information I was thinking about how I am still amazed you love me." He pulled her close and gave her a quick kiss. "Ready to get started?" She looked up at him with a slightly bemused expression and she simply nodded in response to his question. _Ha caught her off guard. This romantic stuff isn't so hard if you just say the nice thoughts that pop in your head. _He moved her into the starting stance and taught her the beginning of the kata. He made her repeated it over and over again until she could do it without having him do it with her. Then he gave her verbal cues only until she didn't need those. "You've got that pattern down well."

"Really? It is easier than I thought it would be."

"Well you are almost up to half speed but there is no point in increasing the speed until you learn the whole thing."

"Why not? I bet I can do it faster."

"No. If you end up mastering the patterns at different speeds then you will stumble trying to put them together. It is better to use a base rhythm and this one is working for you right now. Tomorrow or the next day we will work on the next part." She was only pouting a little at him so he figured she wasn't going to argue with him.

Dinner was quiet as their fathers were at a town council meeting and Nabiki's friends had called her to go shopping. They sat and chatted with Kasumi who had offered to leave them alone but they had refused. The last thing they wanted to do was make any in the house feel uncomfortable. They even offered to clean up after dinner. Kasumi kept offering to help but they insisted that they could clean dishes without causing any trouble.

"I know we have broken a lot of things in the past but I don't think she trusts us." Ranma was drying dishes as Akane washed them. He figured staying away from the water, even if it was warm, was a safer bet.

"Actually Ranma I think she just thinks of the kitchen as being hers and we are intruding. She deserves a break for all she does though."

"Too bad Dr. Tofu gets so weird when she is around. She would probably enjoy being taken out on a date."

"Ranma, I think you are getting to be a romantic."

"Gah, it would just be nice if the family was focused on a different couple and leave us alone."

When they were done they heard the TV on and peaked to see what she was watching. It looked like a romantic comedy. They were both happy to see her enjoying herself.

"Let's head to the bath."

Ranma froze and stared at her. _What is she wanting? She can't possibly want to bathe together._

"Ranma?" She pulled on his hand to get him moving but it was no small task as he was mostly frozen in place. It took three times longer than it should have but she finally got him up the stairs. He would stop and start to say something but never managed to say anything at all. "Hello, Ranma! Go either put your swim trunks on or just stay in your boxers while I go put on one of my suits. Look for the thermometer in the medicine cabinet, we will need that too.

What she was saying didn't sound sexy at all, he tried to think about what she could be up to but was at a loss. He found the thermometer and removed his shirt and pants but stayed in his undershirt and boxers. He watched Akane come in wearing a one piece swimsuit.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"Silly, you haven't figured it out?" She laugh softly at him, "Well just follow me then." She pulled him into the bathing area and walked over to fill a tub with water. She turned and threw the cold water on him.

"What was that for?"

"We are going to figure out what temperature it takes to turn you back into a guy."

Ranma frowned and thought for a moment. "Oh the thermometer is to make sure we know what temperature we are using. Brilliant."

Akane chuckled. Her fiancé was an incredible martial artist, strong, fast and clever in battle but when it came to academics he was not the sharpest sword. She added water to the tub again and added hot water until it was 20 degrees. "Ok test one." She dumped the water over Ranma's head.

"Hey that was definitely still mostly cold. Did you really expect that to change me back?"

"Stop whining like a girl."

"Well since I am a girl right now, I think I get to whine."

She ignored her and start preparing the next tub. "We will try 25 degrees this time." Ranma just gave her an irritated look but said nothing. "Come on we have to work our way up to warmer temperatures. It is like those experiments we had to do in science, we need negative and positive controls. We know cold water will make you a girl and we know 40 degree bathwater will change you back. So we need all the in between."

"So basically I should just be thankful you didn't start with ice water?" Her voice sounded irritated but the tongue sticking out of her mouth let Akane know Ranma was mostly just teasing. She leaned around her fiancé and kissed her, without thinking she pushed her tongue into Ranma's mouth teasing and playing with the tongue that had so unladylike been stuck out previously.

When Akane ended the kiss Ranma stared at her stunned. "A… A… Akane!" They had kissed before while he was in his girl form, not often and every time still caught him a little off guard but they had never kissed like that.

"You're the one who stuck your tongue out at me. I just put it to better use." Akane had given intimacy with girl Ramna a lot of thought. She stole glances at other girls during gym and in the changing room but she never felt even a remote attraction. She was simply not attracted to girls but she was attracted to Ranma as both a male and a female. So she finally concluded that the only reason she still wanted to kiss his girl form was because it really was his soul in there, his personality and his mind. He didn't turn into some girl, he turned into a girl version of himself.

"Don't get mad at me, I mean I don't mind kissing you as a girl but I prefer kissing you as a guy."

"Why? I get that it probably feels a little strange but it is still you, is it really that different?"

Her shoulders shrugged. "It is not important."

"Ranma, we promised to be honest with each other. Even if it isn't important I would like to know."

"Um… well I guess I like being taller than you when we kiss."

Akane giggled uncontrollably. "Is…" she tried putting her fingers over her mouth to stop her laughter, "that all?" When it didn't help, she gave in and wrapped her arms around her sides and continued to laugh.

"Told you it wasn't important. Stop laughing at me." The red-head rolled her eyes are her fiancé. "Is that next tub ready yet?"

Still giggling Akane checked the temp and added a little more hot water. Once ready she dumped it over Ranma's head but wasn't surprised when a girl was still sitting there.

She was afraid to bring the next bucket up to 30 degrees. That was the temperature the waterpark claimed to keep their water at but what if it was only 29 and that made a difference. She filled the tub again but this time brought it to 26.

Downstairs Kasumi heard her father and Uncle Genma arrive home. "Welcome home Father, Uncle. How was your meeting?"

"It went well Kasumi. Where is everyone else?"

"Nabiki went shopping with her friends and Ranma and Akane are upstairs. It sounds like one of them is in the bath."

They climbed the stairs and heard two voices coming from the bath. Soun charged into the bathroom with Genma close behind. "If you are going to bathe with my daughter you WILL marry her. I will not allow you to take advantage of her."

The red-headed girl screeched and jump backwards away from Soun's ghost head. "We ain't bathing together."

When Ranma had jumped Akane ended up missing him with the tub of water. "Great now we have to try 26 degrees again. Daddy what are you doing in here?"

Soun stood looking at the scene, Akane had a tub in her hands and was wearing a swimsuit while Ranma was in his girl form and seemed to have been sitting on the stool. "Well we heard your voices and we um…"

"Just thought you would catch us in the bath naked?" Akane dared her father to try and make something out of the situation. "We are going to figure out what temperature turns Ranma back into a guy."

"Um well I guess that is fine then." Soun backed out of the bathroom with Genma. "Come downstairs when you are done. Someone from another town visited the meeting tonight."

"I wonder what that will be all about." Akane mused while she refilled the tub trying to bring it back up to the right temperature. "Sometimes that means you have to leave to go help another town."

That was almost always what it meant, which would mean leaving Akane behind while he traveled for who knows how long. She would want to join them and the idea of putting her in danger made his skin crawl but at the same time they hadn't been separated for more than a few hours since China and she would never agree to stay in the house the whole time he was gone.

A bucket of water was dumped over the pig-tailed girl shocking her out of her reverie. Akane had been talking and was in the middle of a sentence before she realized Ranma wasn't paying attention. "Did you even hear what I said?"

"Sorry."

She took a deep breath and started another tub. "I said that I think I should be allowed to go if you have to leave."

"Why? We handle it fine without you and 3 guys can stay in one room easier."

"I don't like being left behind. I want to help too."

"I don't know. I am sure your father will hate the idea."

Ranma wasn't saying no and that was a very good sign. She checked the water temperature of her tub and saw it was ready. She decided to wait and try again later and hoped their fathers took her side. Dumping the water over her fiancé's head she looked for a change but was disappointed to still see red hair.

"This is getting irritating. We should just try 30 degrees and get it over with."

"I thought about that but I am afraid the temperature of one pool could be a degree or two warmer or cooler than another. If 30 changes you but we don't know about 28 or 29 it could be really embarrassing for you."

"Gah… fine."

She was already filling the next tub and testing the temperature. Ranma continued to complain and Akane continued to ignore him as they tested 27, 28 and 29. She was prepping the next one and couldn't believe how nervous she was for Ranma. He had gotten more and more irritable as they tested the different temperatures, she figured he was probably as nervous as she was. Maybe more.

"Here is 30. Ready?"

"Just get it over with."

She closed her eyes and dumped the water. "Ranma?" She heard the stool shift against the floor and footsteps head towards the door.

"Didn't work. Didn't think it would." The door slammed behind him.

The tub clattered against the floor as Akane rushed to follow.

**AN:** Up dates will probably happen every 4 or 5 days. I am not as far ahead on this one as I was the last one. I am also wanting to try and post chapters that are a little longer than last time. R&R as you like.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Ranma 1/2

Chapter 3 – The Magic Number

Akane had brought her swimsuit cover with her; she grabbed it from the changing area before heading for the roof. She was sure that was where she would find Ranma, still in boxers and an undershirt that barely covered her breasts. Shaking her head in frustration she climbed the ladder. They should have talked about it first; she just assumed he would want to know as much as she did. She stood on the roof and looked around but there was no sign of Ranma anywhere. Sighing heavily she look toward the dojo, the lights were not on but that didn't really mean anything.

Meanwhile, Ranma was sitting in the dark. She knew Akane was looking for her but she wasn't ready to talk yet. While debating whether or not to change back to a boy she heard footsteps on the roof and briefly smiled, Akane always knew the best places to look first. Next she would check the dojo and be disappointed. Ranma was regretting storming out of the bathroom; Akane had meant well and had no idea how agitated he had been when Nabiki made the comment about how 30 degrees might not be hot enough. She was right, and Akane was also right that they should know, but the thought of swimming and playing in the water as a guy had gotten his hopes up too high. He had started to think of the water slides and wave pool; goofing off with his guy friends. He had even thought about how nice it would be to get Akane into the water; she couldn't swim at all so he would have to hold her. As a girl people would give them strange looks and his friends would make perverted comments. Even worse was the thought that Kuno could show up and chase her around. If she got splashed somehow with hot water then the swimsuit would become very uncomfortable.

Akane was in fact feeling disappointed and was now worried that Ranma had left the grounds to find a place to pout. If she was going to keep looking she needed to change into her normal clothes. Heading up to her room she was muttering to herself rather loudly. "If she is out there somewhere in boxers and a tank top with her stupid breasts hanging out I am going to flatten her. If she changed back to a boy first then I will flatten him anyway."

"I don't want to be flattened as a boy or a girl."

Akane jumped and shrieked, "YOU WERE HIDING IN HERE?"

Sitting on the floor against Akane's bed, Ranma shrugged and said nothing.

Akane turned on the light and sat down facing her fiancé, who had her hands wrapped around her knees and was definitely pouting. "I'm sorry. I should have talked to you about it first. I just thought you would want to know."

"I did want to know. I just really wanted it to work."

"It doesn't really matter if you go swimming as a boy or a girl. You have always gone as a girl in the past. I know our friends will be there but they aren't mean."

"The guys are perverted and when we went swimming before it wasn't like a date. It was just the family going."

"Other people always showed up anyway. But you are right it will feel different and if you don't want to go we will find an excuse not to go." Akane climbed up on her bed and sat with her back to the wall. "Come up here with me. It is more comfortable."

Ranma gave her a questioning look but stood up and sat on the bed. She started to sit beside Akane but instead was pulled in front of her. She felt Akane wrap her arms around her waist and rest her chin on her shoulder. They had often sat like this but with him behind Akane. "What are you doing?"

"Comforting you silly. It always helps when you do it to me."

Ranma smiled, it was amusing how Akane would sometimes naturally slip into a role reversal. She felt her squeeze tighter and leaned back against her chest like she so often did to his male side. She felt Akane's lips on her neck; she inhaled sharply and tensed but didn't say anything. Akane had proven again and again that she really didn't think any differently about his female side. _I need to stop freaking out every time she tries something new or she will stop trying._

Akane felt Ranma tense but when she didn't jump up or say anything she continued. She loved it when Ranma did this to her. It made her feel so loved and relaxed; she could only hope that it would do the same for her stressed and disappointed fiancé.

Eventually she felt Ranma relax back against her. Akane continued to plant light kisses up and down Ranma's neck and behind her ear. She heard what sounded like a soft whimper after a few minutes and smiled against her shoulder. "Like that?"

Ranma was glad she couldn't see the blush that was surely bright on her face. "It feels really good." She said breathily. _Was that my voice?_ She felt an odd tightness below her belly button and didn't know what to think about it. "We can go back and you can finish using me as a lab rat now if you want." She felt funny and a little sensitive as she moved to stand up. _This is really weird. _

"Are you sure you want to?"

"You said it was possible that the pools could run warmer too, so if 31 changes me then it could be a problem. Let's just get it over with but if I have to be a girl tomorrow to go then I ain't wearing a bikini."

Akane chuckled, "Fine." She grabbed her hand and they went back to work.

They finally determined that 37 degrees was the magic number. Akane thought it made sense that body temperature would be the changing point. When Ranma had a high fever he couldn't be changed by cold water, it warmed up too quickly against his skin.

Ranma was back to being a guy and both of them had finished bathing, separately, and were downstairs ready to hear what their fathers had to say.

"We might have to help protect sacred shrines in our area. Two representatives from nearby towns were at the meeting to warn us that their shrines had been damaged."

"Who would do such a thing?" Akane hoped there would be a way to convince them to let her help.

"Is it a demon again?" Ranma really hoped not because the last demon had actually been Happosai in an octopus pot.

"There are no clues they could give us to determine who might be doing this but they both thought it was a human who had damaged the structures. At one shrine an artifact was stolen and at the other several small statues were shattered." Soun explained. "For now they are going to have added protection around our shrine and secure any sacred objects; however if another one is desecrated then they will likely come to us for help."

"Protecting the town is an important responsibility of our dojo and I want to be a part of helping this time." Akane was worrying her hands under the table waiting for Ranma and her father to yell at her.

Ranma knew this was coming and he when he heard her mention the responsibly of the dojo he rolled his eyes. Leave it to her to come up with a way to make it sound like she had to be included because she was going to inherit the dojo someday. "I don't think we can make a decision about who should go until we know more." Ranma hoped that would be enough to both appease Akane and give him time to figure out how to keep her safe without making her hate him.

"I think that is wise Ranma." Soun looked at Akane, "I am pleased that you are taking your future responsibilities seriously."

Akane glowered at Ranma, who wouldn't look at her. "Fine." She finally conceded with a huff.

80 kilometers away a lone figure stood in the shadows near a sacred shrine, moving quickly and quietly they began their search for a scroll. Legend said that the scroll would make its master the perfect warrior. In order to master the scroll, first four objects had to be gathered, the legends were unclear exactly what the objects were but one thing was clear; they were protected by their own individual shrines. The problem was there were so many damn shrines in Japan. Finding the right four was going to be a challenge. This was the largest and supposedly the most powerful of shrines in all of Japan. It seemed like people were there all the time, waiting until dark to search had been necessary. Nerima's shrine would have to wait, staying away from Ranma and Akane was imperative. Hopefully all the items needed would be found in other shrines.

The figure reached the back door to the shrine and looked closely at the lock. It was a simple lock to break and soon the figure was inside. The figure scanned the displays, hoping that the priest or priestess who ran the place was careless enough to put the scroll out in plain view. It didn't seem that was the case. Checking the backside of various displays for storage area the figure searched all that were found. Finally one contained scrolls. Having been shown the correct symbol to look for along the upper margin, it was easy to check each one. The scroll didn't have to be opened very far to see if the symbol was present and soon discarded scrolls lay in a pile by the display.

None of the scrolls had the symbol. The figure heard a movement from another room and quickly replaced the unneeded scrolls. _Damn, more research._

On the way out the door the figure spied an unusual looking object. It was a ceremonial knife that had a Jade hilt with what appeared to be a story drawn in gold. Picking it up and slipping it a pocket, the figure escaped into the night.

Ranma knew Akane was probably still irritated with him for not being supportive about her helping protect the shrine. _If we even have to, the thief might end up being stupid kids and get caught by the police_. She had gone up to her room and he decided to leave her alone for a little while. He watched TV until it became dark outside, he had found live coverage of a karate competition and watch to see if he could predict the winner. If the rules weren't so rigid he would probably enjoy competing, some of the contests even offered prize money.

Akane knew she was pouting and that nothing had been decided yet anyway; she was being petty and she needed to find a way to stop before she started a fight with Ranma. He had let her leave the table and even after an hour hadn't checked on her. She supposed that she should be happy he was giving her space instead of trying to force her to understand but he was her fiancé and should trying to cheer her up.

Ranma checked on her every night and he wasn't about to let tonight be any different. He decided to face the fire and go see if she was just sulking or truly mad. Climbing the stairs he saw Nabiki's door ajar. He knew Nabiki had a limited ability to detect an aura so he blocked his and peeked into the room, he could see her sitting at her computer and appeared to be watching something on the screen. He focused on the screen and noticed that it was the video she had taken of Akane and him in the dojo yesterday. _Looks like she is going to sell it soon. That certainly won't cheer Akane up._ As he watched he saw himself pick up Akane and wrap her legs around his waist. Watching it was awkward but he couldn't help but remember the moments before they realized Nabiki was there. Akane had better not be holding a grudge against him because right now he really needed to get his hands on her.

Leaving the door and moving down the hall, he knocked on Akane's door. He heard her call for him to come in, he smiled knowing that if she was really mad at him, she would have yelled at him to go away. Pushing the door open he walked in to find her sitting at her desk reading a book, she had already changed into her pajamas. "Will you hear me out?"

She closed her book but didn't turn to face him. "Yeah, okay."

He carefully closed the door behind him and leaned against the frame. "Look I know I haven't said whether or not I think you should go, if we are asked to help. I haven't because if any of the shrines that are the in other towns ask for help too then I don't know which is worse, leaving you here or taking you and risking you getting hurt. Sometimes the problems have been pretty minor but if it is dangerous then I worry that things will be like after Jusenkyo again." Ranma wanted to grab her and kiss her until she forgot she was upset but he knew they had to talk about this first. "I guess that probably didn't make much sense."

"I think I get what you are trying to say. You don't like not knowing what to expect." She wished she could find a way to convince him that she would be an asset to have along with them. "I want to actually use my skills."

"That's not it." He took a deep breath and tried again to explain. "I don't like not knowing how I will react. Just a few months ago I flipped out being in a different classroom than you and nearly chocked Shampoo over a slap." He walked over to her and tilted her face up to look at his. "If it were to come to a real fight, not a duel but a fight for your life situation, I don't know what I would do if you got hurt."

She stood up and put her arms around him. "But you said leaving me behind would be hard too, right?"

"Yeah, that is the other problem, I don't want to go back to nightmares and panic attacks either."

"Okay, we drop it for now. When we have more information then we will talk again. If I think I can truly help then I am going to fight with you, dad and uncle Genma if I have to."

Ranma's mouth twitched at her stubbornness. "We'll see about that." Taking another deep breath he decided he need to confess what he saw a short time ago. "I have to tell you something."

Akane didn't know what to think about that statement. Ranma sounded like it was bad news but he had a glint of mischief in his eyes as well. Sucking in air though her nose and narrowing her eyes at him, "What is it?"

"Nabiki is in her room editing that video she got of us."

"And?" Akane's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "That isn't really surprising."

"It got me thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Perverted thoughts…" He grabbed her waist and pulled her toward him, "about you…" he leaned down and planted a row of kisses along her neck, grinning when she tilter her head to the side to give him better access, "Her door was cracked and I could see us on the screen. All I wanted to do after that was come in here and kiss you."

Akane was having trouble focusing, "But, um, you still brought up the, um, shrine stuff."

"It was torture but I needed to explain. Now I won't feel guilty about doing this." He put a hand on the back of her head and tilted her mouth up to meet his.

She was not about to let him take all the control, stepping into him she used her body to push him back to the bed. When he sat down she climbed onto his lap and resumed kissing him; playing with his hair she pulled out the tie and undid the braid.

Ranma flinched out of habit before he remembered that he didn't have to worry anymore about his hair tie. "You going to redo the braid for me later?"

"Sure." She pulled back and smiled at him while she ran her fingers through his dark hair. "Has it always been wavy like this?"

"Nah, it used to be really straight but since I drank that soup and started braiding it…" he twisted his mouth and thought for a moment, "yeah, I guess I never have really wanted to go back to my old style. I like the braid."

"Principal Kuno would freak out if he ever saw it all down like this."

"Ugg, I would never wear it down to school. Wind blows it across my face and into my mouth and…" He noticed Akane trying not to laugh at him. "What?"

"I used to have long hair when you first met me. Remember?"

"Yeah but it is cute on you short."

"Thanks but that is why I used to tie mine back and Kasumi puts a bow in hers. It is also frustrating to train without it tied back. I don't want you to wear it down; I, well, just wanted to play with it."

"Oh, okay. I don't mind. It feels good."

She returned to kissing him and running her fingers through his silky hair. His hands on her hips started to grip her tighter before he let go and pushed them under her pajama top. He rarely explored her body like this, probably because he was afraid of getting caught. She couldn't bring herself to care anymore; with Kasumi's help they had been able to mostly keep their fathers under control. She pressed herself against him as his hands moved up her back.

His heart was beating wildly against his chest; it did anytime he got his hands on her. She drove him crazy, she smelled like soap and her strawberry shampoo. He really liked that she didn't wear perfume often and when she did it was a pretty flower scent. He didn't know what type of flower and he didn't care. He gently ran his hands up her sides and accidentally brushed the sides of her breasts with his thumbs, he usually made sure to avoid that intimate of contact since he didn't know how she would react. This time she was pressed against his chest and he hadn't thought about adjusting his path along her body. He heard her gasp against his mouth. When she went right back to kissing him, he felt empowered.

The instant that Ranma's thumbs brushed her breasts Akane had gasped with surprise and pleasure. She had no idea how much different the touch would feel compared to the rest of her skin. She had certainly entertained the idea of letting him do this sort of thing but she was still too embarrassed to say anything. Instead of pulling away she relaxed and enjoyed the new sensation. She felt him shift his hand and gently rub the underside. _Oh god that feels so good._ He stopped and did the same thing to the other breast. She pulled back from him, letting her head fall back and exposing her neck.

When she lean back Ranma shift one hand to her back to hold her up and felt her relax into his hold. He took her movement as an invitation and kissed her slowly from her chin to the soft area between her collar bones. He felt the vibration of her moan against his lips and smiled, "Like that?"

Unable to form a coherent thought, she simply nodded.

Ranma's ego was definitely being stroked and he was feeling braver still. He watched her face closely as he took the hand still on her chest and fit it over her entire breast. He used to tease her mercilessly about her smaller chest but he was a fool. He gently squeezed and reveled in the soft texture under his fingers. Akane shifted her hips firmly into him and he nearly dropped her. "Oh god you can't do that unless you want to end up on the floor."

Akane brought her head back to face him and tightened her gripped on his neck, "Oh yeah?" Her eyes sparkled with mischief. Shifting against him again, she watched as his eyes rolled back in his head. She prepared to torture him further when she heard the creak of someone climbing the stairs.

Ranma heard it too and rapidly disengaged himself from her and went for the window.

"Where are you going?"

"I really don't want anyone to come in and find us or rather me."

"But…"

"Akane it is going to be a little while before it stops being obvious how exciting that was for me."

She blushed and tried to resist lowering her gaze. "Oh"

He climbed out the window, turning before the climbed to the roof, "Hey Akane, I'm sorry I ever made fun of your chest." He twitched his eyebrows at her and smiled cockily.

"Get out of here pervert." She couldn't help but smile back at him.

**AN: ** If I decide to write more intimate scenes that this one I might have to seriously consider increasing the rating to M. I never wanted this to contain a great deal of smut but I do want Ranma and Akane to slowly work through their embarassment. I don't foresee it being a problem for the next few chapters at least.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer - **I do not own ranma 1/2.

Chapter 4 – Gaining speed

The next morning Akane and Ranma met their friends in front of the water park entrance. Ranma had already doused himself with cold water before leaving the house; he couldn't help but feel odd standing with the group waiting to get in. Hiroshi and Daisuke were practically preening; he finally figured out that they looked very popular with the ladies having 6 girls follow them into the park. He briefly considered pulling one of his girlie acts on them and insisting they pay for his entrance fee, doing that to Ryoga was fun but he had to see these guys at school every day.

Akane glanced at Ranma nervously; she had been worried all morning that her fiancé would be miserable today. He had been quiet at breakfast this morning only mumbling 'I'll go get ready' when he was finished. She had known that meant cold water but usually he didn't really care about changing these days. Honestly, she only sort of understood his melancholy. He had chosen to become a girl on a number of occasions and lately when accidents happened at school, which was fairly often, he laughed it off and went to find hot water. The entire male student body had gotten used to him casually walking into the locker room as a female and exiting the showers as a male.

After entering they were supposed to turn left into the women's changing rooms or right into the men's. Ranma stood in front of the two arrows trying to decide which choice would be less awkward.

Hiroshi noticed his friend and approached her, "You use the guy's locker room at school."

"But everyone there knows it is me. People here will probably freak out."

Yuka stared wide-eyed at the red head, "But you can't go into the girl's side! I mean you still feel like a guy right? You just look like a girl."

Sayuri stepped in front of Ranma, "This is our fault, we didn't think about how crazy this could be for you…"

"It's okay," she mumbled, "I'll…"

"… Don't interrupt me." She poked Ranma lightly on the forehead. "I have an idea."

Everyone looked at her expectantly. Sayuri detailed her plan to let Ranma into a changing room without causing anyone, including Ranma, to feel too weird. When she was done explaining Hiroshi and Daisuke went to the guy's side while Yuka and Shikako entered the girl's side. A short time later Yuka stuck her head out and indicated it was okay to enter. Akane and Ranma went into the girl's changing room to find it empty. There were rows of lockers, a shower area and a restroom. Ranma slipped into a stall to change while Akane quickly put on her bathing suit and cover up.

"Is it ok to come out?"

Akane smiled and glanced at herself in the mirror. She liked the way she looked in her suit and wondered how Ranma would react. "Yeah, I'm ready."

When she stepped out of the stall and saw Akane in the yellow bikini, she had to laugh. "It looks better on you."

"You think so?"

Ranma's eyes warmed as she put her hands on her fiance's shoulders. "You wore this to torment me didn't you?"

She smiled mischievously, "I might have. Did you wear that suit as a reminder?" She glanced at the embroidered BOY across her chest.

"Definitely"

Akane pulled Ranma in for a brief kiss. "Try to have fun today. Okay?"

"Yeah… okay."

"Go on out, I will let Sayuri and Makoto know that we are done."

Ranma nodded, stuffed her bag in a locker with Akane's things and left the changing room. When she got to where Yuka and Shikako were standing there was a small group of ladies.

Yuka turned to Ranma, "Is your cousin still sick?"

"No she is feeling better, um, sorry about the problem everyone." Ranma along with the two girls moved quickly away from the crowd to meet up with the guys.

Meanwhile, Akane approached Sayuri and announced that her cousin was feeling better now and the changing room was fine to enter. Fortunately there were only a few people waiting to enter. Her friends could now get themselves ready and she slipped through the room to the designated meeting spot. When she exited and got her first look at the park, she was amazed. Tall slides, twisting slides, a large pool that was somehow generating waves, a cabana with palm trees and winding through the whole thing was a river. People on floating tubes were relaxing as the current slowly pushed them along the winding water path. She wasn't particularly interested in the wave pool but the lazy river looked exactly like something she could do.

Ranma jogged over to her and pulled her by her wrist over with the rest while they continued to look around, waiting on their last two friends. So far the guys had kept the glances at her chest short and not overtly obvious; both had smirked when they read the embroidery and the girls had snickered.

When the other two finally joined them, Hiroshi spoke up first, "I think the water slides sound fun. Want to do those first?"

Everyone agreed enthusiastically except Akane who nodded timidly and tried to smile sweetly. Ranma noticed her hesitation and as the group starting walking to the slides she slowed down to whisper, "We can go do something else if you want."

"But you will really like the slides. Besides, I should look at them before I decide I can't do them. I am not afraid."

"Geez… I know you are not afraid, you have never been afraid of the water, you just sink like a rock." When Akane gave her an irritated look she put her hands behind her head and continued, "Seriously, how is it you can't even float?"

"How should I know? I just can't. You think I like not being able to swim." She noticed that Ranma wasn't paying attention to her anymore. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Look, silly."

"What?"

"People are carrying inner tubes up with them on those slides over there." She was pointing to a set of three slides that seemed to share a single set of stairs to the top. As they watched other people were placing their tubes at the start of the slide and climbing on. When they reached the bottom of the slide they floated to a stop and climbed out, it even looked like the water only came up to their waist or chest depending on the size of the person. "You can totally do those with me."

"I can! They look really fun; let's go." She grabbed Ranma's hand and pulled her toward the slides. When Ranma hesitated she turned around, "What's wrong?"

"You can't grab my hand in public."

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't thinking. Most people would assume we were just friends."

"I am probably paranoid but the guys will make comments if they see us, anyone from our school would know better and Nabiki knows we're here and that I had to come as a girl. I bet she would love to get pictures."

"Oh come on…" When Ranma didn't respond she sighed, rolled her eyes and let go of her hand, "Fine. Today we're just friends."

Ranma wasn't sure which was worse, being caught as girlfriends or being just friends. Even though she had said 'today' and Ranma knew that is exactly what she meant, they would pretend to not be a couple today, hearing 'just friends' was terrible. Looking at her fiancé in that little, now it seemed too little, yellow bikini, she really hated just being her friend. She frowned, "Yeah, let's go."

They caught up with their friends and found where they were supposed to pick up the tubes. They were right next to the stairs where a sign was hung to describe the three slides. One named Black Out was completely dark, another called The Typhoon promised to toss the riders around at turbulent speeds and the final one was the largest and advertise that two people could go down together.

Ranma smiled and pulled out a tube that could seat two people. It was oblong with two sets of handles and two clear places where people could sit. "Come Akane, let's do slide number 3 first."

"What? Ranma, we're hurt. Don't you want to go down that slide with one of us?" Everyone, expect Ranma, laughed at Hiroshi's feigned broken heart.

"Idiots"

The group climbed the stairs, when Yuka stumbled over her tube Ranma quickly handed the large tube to Akane and caught Yuka and the tube that she had nearly fallen over. "Gottcha," setting Yuka easily on her feet, Ranma handed her tube back to her and turned to retrieve the double tube from Akane.

Yuka gaped at Akane, who offered her a small smile in return. "Th… th… thank you Ranma." She watched the red head shrug. She had been present when Akane had been caught or picked up by Ranma in both male and female forms and found herself a little jealous of her friend.

Akane moved to climb the stairs behind her friend and leaned closer to whisper, "Nabiki had the same reaction the first time Ranma caught her."

Yuka giggled and was careful to watch her steps more closely.

As they made it to the top they chose their separate lines to the slide they wanted to ride first. Ranma and Akane were the only ones to pick the wider slide. Akane couldn't help but smile at the thought of her friend's response to Ranma. She was pretty sure in that moment Yuka had not been concerned that it was a female who grabbed her and set her carefully back in place. While all her friends thought Ranma was good looking as a male, none of them really understood that she didn't see a difference anymore between his two genders. Yuka maybe would understand a little bit better now.

The lifeguard looked at the two young ladies in front of him. The tiny bikini the dark haired girl was wearing was very fetching and he let his gaze linger on her exposed belly. Taking a look at the red head, he caught the funny word on the front. That one was probably feisty and her chest was great, too bad she wasn't wearing the bikini. "Hello ladies, riding down together?"

"Yes, we …."

Ranma had caught the look the lifeguard was giving both of them and interrupted Akane, batting her eyelashes and bouncing up and down in front of him, "Oh yes we sure are. This looks so fun. I really hope we don't fall out."

Akane glared at Ranma then rolled her eyes at her before climbing into the tube being held in place by the lifeguard. The guy was now openly ogling her fiancé's chest and she was feeling very irritated that someone else was checking Ranma out. "Come on Ranma, it's our turn."

Ranma climbed into the tube and used the rails provided to pull them onto the slide. She heard Akane yelp a few times on the way down as their tube slid high on the walls of the slide or they were jostled to one side or the other. After the first curve Ranma had reached forward and gripped Akane's waist while no one could see.

Akane felt Ranma's hands on her waist and smiled, it was nice to find a small way to make this feel like more than just a friend's outing. She could see the end of the slide coming up and knew those hands would disappear soon.

Their tube skidded into the small pool at the end of the slide and Ranma helped Akane out of the tube, "Again?"

"What the hell was up with you and the lifeguard?"

"Wha…?"

"You were flirting. You were with me and you were flirting with him. Making your chest bounce like that was ridiculous." She turned and marched away from Ranma to sit down at a bench.

Ranma wasn't sure what to do. She had been flirting with the lifeguard so denying it was pointless. How was she supposed to explain to Akane that she had always flirted with guys who tried to check her out? Akane was completely oblivious to guys wanting her. If they weren't like Kuno or the guys who used to challenge her every morning, then she didn't notice when she was attracting attention. _Hell she never thought I found her attractive._ She walked over to the bench where Akane was sitting. "Look I'm sorry. I wasn't flirting for the reason you think."

"So you aren't going to deny you were flirting," she stared at her hands in her lap. Somehow she thought maybe Ranma would deny it and she could pretend it hadn't happened. It felt weird to be jealous of her flirting with a guy. "How do you know what I think?"

"Why do you think I was flirting with him?"

"You like attention and the boost to your ego."

"You really think I want a guy's attention when I look like this?" Ranma sat down beside Akane and in a quiet voice, "I do it to keep them from flirting with you. I have for a long time."

"Me? He wasn't looking at my bouncing chest."

"He was before I did that."

"Not every guy that is nice to me is flirting with me. I never get checked out by guys anyway."

Ranma laugh at her, "Of course you wouldn't notice Tomboy. Believe me today alone you have been checked out multiple times. If I was a guy I would hold your hand and chase them off with a look. As a girl, I either distract them or punch them, your choice."

"Or you could trust me to take care of myself and we can have fun." When Ranma only grumbled at her, she reached over and swatted the back of her fiancé's head, "or I suppose I could just react like you and punch any guy who checks you out and what was the other thing… hmmm distract them from looking at you. How should I go about doing that?"

Ranma had flinched when she smacked her head but as soon as Akane had mentioned distracting guys her head had snapped up to stare at her. _Does Akane get jealous of stupid guys looking at my female body? _"Fine, you made your point. I will stop."

"Good"

Ranma put her hands behind her head and leaned back on the bench. "So you were mad because that lifeguard looking at me made you jealous?"

"No I was mad because you acted like an idiot."

"Ha, that is nothing new. I think you didn't like me being checked out by him."

"Why would I be jealous of that? You don't like guys so there is no reason to be jealous." The truth of course was that she had felt a little jealous. She didn't like that guy leering at Ranma's chest.

"Fine whatever you say." Ranma stood up and turned to Akane. "Let's go down again.

"Okay" She stood and walked back to the stairs. "I want to sit in the back this time."

"Why?"

She leaned in and whispered, "Maybe I want to hold your waist this time."

Ranma was still grinning like an idiot when they reached the top of the stairs and waited for their turn on the slide. When they approached the lifeguard this time, he was openly leering at them again. Ranma had to struggle to not react. She watched Akane on the other hand losing her battle with her temper.

"Well hello again pretty ladies." Looking at Ranma he wiggled his eyebrows are her, "Nothing boy about you. How about when my shift is done I take you both down the slide?"

Akane saw him move to put his hands on Ranma's waist to help her into the tube and she lost her battle. Akane planted her fist directly in his face. The lifeguard was temporarily dazed but managed to shake off the punch after a few seconds.

"How dare you attack me?"

When he started forward again Ranma flipped him onto his back and sat on his chest. She leaned in carefully and quietly spoke into his ear. "Touch my fiancé again and you will go flying off this platform." The lifeguard stared back with a shocked expression and numbly nodded.

The other swimmers who were waiting their turn started clapping and cheering at the pair. One girl approached Akane and placed a hand on her shoulder. "That guy has been hitting on every girl to come up here, even the ones riding with their boyfriends. Thank you for doing that."

Akane smiled at the girl, "Guys like that shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. You should at least report him to someone here."

"You're right. Thanks again."

"Come Akane, let's head down."

They climbed into the tube and Akane pulled them onto the slide. Before she could grab Ranma's waist however, the red head had leaned back into her and tilted her head back to smile at her. Akane returned the smile, "Well some guys are fine to punch if they hassle us." The tube jerked as it rounded a turn, causing Akane to grab tightly onto Ranma to stay upright.

Ranma grinned, "Next time don't pull your punch, that guy deserved a harder hit."

As the end of the slide came into view Ranma sat back up, wishing the ride had been longer. She again helped Akane out of the tube before returning it to where it had come from. She jogged back over to where Akane was waiting, "Let's find something else to do." She saw Daisuki wave at them and wandered over to him.

"Some of us are going to try out those super-fast slides over there." He pointed across the park where two very tall straight slides were located. The slides looked like they were nearly vertical except for a couple of flat areas meant to allow the rider to slow down to safer speeds before falling again. As they watched, riders flew down the slides sending a huge spray of water as they encounter the very long pool at the end.

"Hell yeah! I wanna do that." Ranma was practically quivering with excitement.

Akane spotted Sayuri and Yuka at the cabana, "I am going to join them," pointing at the table where they were sitting, "I want something to drink and we will be able to see you guys from there."

"You sure you don't want to come?"

"Yes, I will be fine." She had watched the riders skid to a stop and sink quickly. Even though it was obviously a shallow enough pool to stand up in, she was not in the mood to possibly make a fool of herself.

"Okay, see ya later." Ranma and Daisuke found the others and hurried to climb the long stairs to the next set of slides.

At the top of the stairs was a platform that separated the line into right and left. They decided to all head to the same one so that they could easily watch each other take their turns. Ranma shook his head softly as Hiroshi bowed to the girls beside him and declared, "Ladies first."

Makoto and Shikako giggled and climbed the last set of stairs. Ranma waited for the guys to continue on when Hiroshi looked at her expectantly.

"What?"

"I said ladies first." He was barely keeping himself from laughing. Beside him Daisuke was biting his lips to prevent himself from smiling.

Ranma wished her friend was wearing a shirt so that she could haul him up and give him a good shake. She had to settle for glaring at him, "I'm a guy."

Daisuke gave up and smiled broadly, "Not today. So you have to let us be gentlemen."

Ranma marched past them, "I just want to ride the slide. You two are not getting away with this." She watched the two girls take their turns. They had to lie on their backs with their arms crossed over their chest with their ankles crossed. Ranma couldn't help but think that it would be really fun to try to ride down on her feet instead but doubted the park would allow it. She didn't want to get kicked out already, despite the few cracks the guys had made and the incident with the lifeguard she really was having a good time.

The lifeguard on this slide was female so she didn't have to worry about getting hit on again. "Your turn young lady." She heard the guys snicker again behind her. Ranma took a deep breath and released it slowly. _ I guess it could be worse. _Climbing into the slide she waited to be signaled to go.

As soon as the lifeguard blew her whistle, Ranma pulled hard on the rails to get a nice fast start and laid back. The slide dropped sharply and she let out a loud whoop. She hit the first level area and slowed down a little before dropping again, this time however she was momentarily weightless and nearly left the slide before falling again. _This is incredible._ Ranma loved the speed and the falling sensation, after hitting the pool she got out quickly and raced back to the stairs.

Akane sat with her friends chatting about the day. She told them about the perverted lifeguard and they told her about how much they enjoyed the other two slides. She saw her friends look at each other; they seemed to carry on a silent conversation. "What's up with you two?"

Sayuri blushed and had trouble meeting her friend's eyes, "Well we were wondering…"

"We probably shouldn't even be asking."

"…what is it like when Ranma is a girl?"

"You see what she is like. She acts mostly the same, well, unless she is trying to act girly to be annoying." When they were chatting about the park Akane had conveniently left out the part where Ranma had gotten jealous of the lifeguard and acted stupid.

Yuka sighed and shook her head at her dense friend, "We mean… What is it like being his girlfriend when he is a girl?

"Being her girlfriend? Well technically we are still engaged, so fiancé. I don't understand, I said she is the same person. Ranma just looks different."

Both girls looked pointedly at Akane, "You are evading our question."

"No I'm not."

Yuka was frustrated and didn't know how much time they had to try and get her friend give them something good, "Fine, do you hold hands when he is female?"

"Why does it matter?"

Sayuri pointed her finger at Akane's chest, "You are definitely evading now."

"You just want some good gossip."

"We only want to understand what it is like to date a guy and a girl." Yuka didn't think her friend would answer or would just repeat what she said earlier. They all tried to be supportive but after the excitement over the photos and the kiss after the duel had died down, her relationship with female Ranma had become the next great speculation to spread around the school.

"I'm not attracted to girls if that is what you are asking." Her friends were starting to look guilty so she tried her best to explain what she could, "Look, if I think Ranma needs a hug or if I want to hold hands I just do it. I don't pay attention to whether it is a guy or a girl I am with."

They stared at her in awe, this opened up a whole world of possibilities. Hiroshi and Daisuke often joked that they might kiss while Ranma was female but they never took it seriously. If Akane really didn't pay attention, it could mean they did.

Sayuri frowned, "But today you haven't held hands or anything else."

Akane shrugged, "We are in public. Most people, and apparently my own friends, wouldn't understand."

Yuka looked down at her lap, "We are really sorry Akane. We shouldn't have asked."

"Try to treat Ranma the same today, maybe you will start to see what I do. It is easy to forget gender after a while."

Both nodded at her.

Akane took pity on them and changed the subject, "Look the others are coming this way."

Hiroshi and Daisuke grabbed another table and pushed it up against the one they were sitting at. Makoto and Shikako sat down while the guys arranged chairs.

Hiroshi sat down, slouching limply in his chair, "Normal people can only do those slides so many times without dying. Your heart leaves your chest and your stomach takes its place. It is crazy… fun, but crazy."

"Makoto and I only went down once, the guys went down a few times."

Akane looked around in confusion, "Where's Ranma?"

Daisuke lifted his head up from where he had placed it on the table, "Ranma isn't normal, in fact, I'm not sure he's human." He allowed his head to thump back down against the table.

Akane heard another whoop come from the slide area and giggled, "Ranma is a lot of things but normal has never been one of them."

"He is going nuts over there trying to get more speed each time. It was exhausting to watch."

Akane smiled at Makoto and wondered if her friends would ever truly get used to the crazy things Ranma was willing to do. She looked back toward the slide and saw Ranma jogging over to the table. "She is apparently done."

Daisuke looked up and grinned evilly. As Ranma got closer to the table he stood up and pulled out the chair next to Akane, who frowned at his actions. Using a grand gesture he swept his hand across his front like a butler and bowed deeply, "My lady, your seat is over here."

Ranma growled at his friend, pushed him away and plopped down in the seat. Hiroshi was laughing loudly and Daisuke was holding his sides as he stumbled back to his own chair. Even the other four girls had their hands over their mouths trying to hide their snickers.

Akane gave Ranma a questioning look. He shrugged, "Those two think they are comedians today. Didn't help that the lifeguard kept calling me young lady. Well, until I tried to get a running start, then she told me not to come back."

Akane tried to eat her smile, "Shows what they know, you are definitely not a lady."

"That isn't exactly helping."

Akane watched her fiancé out of the corner of her eye for a few minutes as the group continued to laugh and tease her. They didn't realize the fact that Ranma was still sitting at the table and hadn't escaped like the other day spoke volumes. She should probably distract everyone before they went too far though, "I want some ice cream. Anyone else want to relax and have a treat before we go back to the water?"

Ranma perked up, "I wonder if they have parfaits."

Hiroshi and Daisuke stood up to go order everyone's ice cream. Hiroshi looked at Ranma who was still sitting down, "Come on Ranma, you have to help too."

Ranma lazily propped his head up on his palm. "A lady doesn't get her own treats." She twitched her eyebrows at the guys and batted her eyelashes a few times for good measure.

Yuka grinned and winked at Ranma, "I agree. I want a small chocolate sundae, Ranma wants a parfait…"

"…strawberry…"

"… yes, strawberry. What about you Akane?"

"Hmmm, I think a banana split sounds good today."

The other girls caught up with what was going on and placed their order too. Hiroshi and Daisuke walked away looking defeated. Hiroshi sighed dramatically, "We just got duped."

"There goes my allowance."

"We might have deserved it."

"Probably, we going to stop teasing him?"

"No way." Hiroshi grinned at his friend. "If we have to buy him ice cream then he has to put up with a little more."

**AN: **Mostly fluff I know but I was feeling bad that in my last story I mostly got rid of all of Ranma's friends so I wanted to give him back a little. Although these guys probably would never become best friends for Ranma, I still wanted to build a little more acceptance among their school friends. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. R&R as you like.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Ranma 1/2

**AN:** Thank you for the awesome reviews. I love reading them, so keep them coming. I am having so much fun writing this story. I got into a groove this week and have chapters 6 and 7 nearly all ready as well so I should be able to get chapter 6 up in a few days.

Chapter 5 - Waterfalls

Sitting at a desk in northern Tokyo, the lone figure was comparing pictures on the dagger to rumored pieces required for the scroll. The scroll had still not been located but in a stroke of luck a small clue had been written on an object taken from the first shrine. The dagger felt more important, it seemed to almost hum with its own chi. The object from the first shrine was a small wooden plank, decorated with cherry blossoms and had a children's story written on it about a powerful warrior who terrorized both China and Japan. A Chinese sorceress saved the villages by breaking the warrior's weapon and scattering the pieces across Japan. Once the weapon was destroyed the heroic sorceress was able to banish the warrior back to china and lock away her power forever. It described the final battle taking place on a volcano, in the story the sorceress used the raw power of the volcano to fuel her spell to take the power away from the warrior and hide it. Searching for the locations of shrines near Mt. Fuji, the lone figure planned their next trip.

After they were done with their treats Akane wanted to relax in the lazy river. Ranma decided to join her since going back to the fast slides was out of the question until a new lifeguard was on duty. There were signs to direct them towards where they could pick up tubes and enter the river. While grabbing a tube Ranma looked at the other people in the river. It truly was lazy, no one was splashing or goofing around; they were just sitting the in tubes. Some were chatting and it was easy to tell groups that were together as many chose to keep themselves from drifting apart by holding the handles on each other's tubes. _This is going to be boring._ She watched as Akane struggled a bit to climb into hers and reached over and quickly her flipped backwards into it. Ranma climbed into her own tube and caught hold of Akane's handle. If she was going to have to be bored at least she could talk to Akane.

As Akane had tried to climb into her tube it would float away from her and she would pull it back and try again to climb on. After a few attempts she felt herself turned around to face Ranma and gently tossed into the center, landing with a small splash. _Patience is not one of Ranma's skills._ Oh, she had patience to spend days perfecting a new technique, although the amount of curse words spewing from her fiance's mouth during those days strongly suggested that it was not patience at all but rather an unwillingness to give up and admit defeat. Akane smiled sweetly at Ranma. "Thank you for joining me."

Ranma sighed and smiled back. That smile was really why she was here instead of in the wave pool with the others. Makoto and Sayuri had seemed to want to join them but Yuka had abruptly pulled them away with her, whispering something to them as they walked away.

"Sure. Um… are you having a good time?"

"I am having a really good time. You at least had fun on the fast slide, right?"

"Akane stop worrying about me. I am having a good time. The guys got a little annoying," she grinned and chuckled, "but at least I got back at them."

They floated on the river as it wound its way around the park chatting and laughing as Ranma enlightened Akane as to the various stunts the guys had tried to pull. Akane was pleasantly surprised that Ranma was taking the teasing from their friends so well. She wondered if she should complain about the uncomfortable questions she was subjected to before her fiancé and the others returned from the slides. _I don't want to change the mood but I am going to have to tell her eventually._

Looking ahead Ranma noticed a waterfall spilling over the width of the river. _Looks like they make sure everyone gets good and wet._ Akane was facing away from it and with all the noise around them she probably won't notice it until she got doused.

When the water hit Akane she gasped, "Oh that is warm." Suddenly her smile disappeared as she stared at her fiancé. The waterfall hit the red head and almost immediately the transformation started.

"Dammit"

Akane regained her senses, reaching over and flipping his tube upside-down.

Once dumped into the river Ranma swam underwater until he reached cooler water and felt himself return to his smaller body. The relief was immediate, the tight suit had been momentary very uncomfortable. Breaking the surface of the water she looked for Akane and her tube. She realized it was hard to see, they had entered a tunnel and the light was being provided by small rectangular fixtures along the top. As her eyes adjusted she found Akane holding on her their tubes floating a short ways ahead of her, diving under the water she resurfaced through the hole in the tube and climbed back on.

"I don't think anyone saw you."

"It would be great if a swimsuit existed that worked for me either way."

"Ouch"

"Yeah"

The tunnel was long and if Akane was guessing right, they were behind the cabana area right now. "If we go around again we will remember where that waterfall is and that there's a tunnel behind it. It must be how they heat the water in the river."

Ranma grumbled at her, she was not looking forward to going around again.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad." She glanced around and knew they were not very easy see while they were in the low light. "Come here." She pushed on Ranma's tube giving it a quick spin. When their heads were close together she tugged on her fiance's pigtail and brought their lips together.

Ranma pulled back after allowing the kiss for a moment, "People might see us."

"Can you see the people around us very well?"

"No… but still."

"Relax, our friends are who you are most worried about right?"

"And your sneaky sister!" Ranma heard rather than saw another waterfall up ahead and as they got closer they could tell it was also the end of the tunnel. "See you on the other side." She slipped down through the center hole and stayed underwater until she was clear of the waterfall. She had again changed briefly but expecting it this time as able to swim quickly to the cooler water. It seems strange to be seeking cold water in order to stay a girl but it wasn't the first time and overall it wasn't terrible. Again swimming back to her tube she slipped back in and continued to float around the park.

Akane was able to convince her to float around again and agreed let her to move to the wave pool next. As they came back around to the waterfall Akane threw caution to the wind and kissed Ranma again as they went under the first batch of warmer water. It was thrilling to feel the change happen. His lips were thinner and the shape of his jawline changed under her hands.

As the angle of the kiss changed Ranma held out as long as he could stand before dumping himself underwater. She popped back up and gave an exasperated look at the dark haired girl who was grinning at her. "You are tempting fate, you know that?"

"That was really interesting to feel."

Ranma shook her head and rested her arms on the tube. _No point in climbing back on until after the second waterfall._ "I can't argue with that. Maybe we could try it again in a more private setting."

"Oh alright."

Across the park Nabiki was certain Yuka had said Ranma and Akane were on the double slide. She might not have been able to catch an intimate picture of the two girls together yet but going down a waterslide together would at least sell. Pictures of them in their bathing suits would always sell to Kuno. She waited another 20 minutes and never saw them emerge from the slide, nor could she see them on the stairs. _Is it possible Yuka lied for them?_ She had seen Yuka head in the direction of the wave pool and decided to take a stroll in that direction and see what she could find out.

Scattered around the pool area were lounge chairs, choosing one facing where Yuka and her friends were playing, she relaxed and watched. She didn't see Ranma and Akane here either but they would likely all meet up eventually.

Sayuri tapped Yuka on the shoulder. "I think Nabiki figured out that you lied to her."

Yuka shrugged. "I hope we can warn them before she finds them."

"Finds who?"

"Warns who?"

Hiroshi and Daisuke popped up beside Yuka and waited expectantly.

"Ranma and Akane you idiot. Nabiki probably wants pictures of them here together."

"Oh more pictures. She hasn't had any good ones in a while." Hiroshi was rubbing is hands together greedily.

Thumping him in the chest Yuka was getting angry with Hiroshi and Daisuke's behavior today, "You two need to stop. I want them to spend time with us but they won't if we are always asking questions or teasing them. If we let Nabiki get embarrassing photos of them, they won't come here again with us or do anything else."

The guys looked appropriately ashamed and muttered apologies to her. "Come one let's go back to the deeper area."

When they passed the entrance to the river again, Ranma pulled herself to the area and put her tube away. "Akane are you going to stay in here?"

"Where are you going?"

"Probably the wave pool."

"I will stay for a little while here and meet you there soon."

"Okay," She watched Akane until she disappeared about the first bend before she went to find the wave pool. There were directional signs everywhere in the park so finding the right way to go was easy. Once there it didn't take long to spot her friends and she waded into the water.

"Ranma!"

"Yuka, hi. Is everyone else in here too?"

"Yeah, but you need to know something. Nabiki is in a chair over there." She was surprised when Ranma looked over to where Nabiki was lounging and waved. "Aren't you mad she is here?"

"No point, we expected her to do this. She doesn't have much chance of getting anything she can use. Akane stayed in the lazy river." She didn't like the idea of Nabiki being around but it really was useless to cause a scene. If Akane joined them she would have to make sure she didn't try anything else today.

Hiroshi waved to them and they moved to find the others. As they got deeper into the pool the waves pulled them up and tried to roll them back to the artificial beach. Being the shortest in the group Ranma had to swim against the waves but had little trouble. Yuka on the other hand struggled and was losing ground. Ranma caught her arm and pulled her along.

Yuka laughed as another wave nearly took her under, "Thanks again Ranma."

"No problem."

Nabiki sat on the shore with her telephoto lens and snapped a few pictures. Maybe with some editing they would be useful but overall the day was turning out to be a bust. She had arrived late because Kasumi had sent her to the market to pick up items for dinner tonight. After she returned with the bag her sister had once again sent her on an errand. She wasn't about to be trapped again and waited until her sister went upstairs to clean and quietly dropped the items on the counter, high-tailing it out of the house. Since she didn't have her swimsuit with her, she had been force to stop and by a new one. It vexed her to spend the money but if it meant pictures of Ranma and Akane on a date, as girls, it was worth the investment. Fortunately she never left the house without her camera in her bag, she had bought the camera new a couple of months ago because it sported a 30x zoom lens. With some practice she had gotten better at taking photos from a distance and hoped that the couple would drop their guard soon. _At this rate I am going to go home empty-handed._ She snapped several photos of Ranma playing in the water to sell to Kuno, she needed to at least get most of the money back on the swimsuit.

Akane drifted along thinking about their day together. Compared to many days with Ranma, this one had been relatively normal. They rarely went on dates, with neither of them having a job it wasn't always worth the money. She had occasionally convinced him to go on a walk with her and Kasumi often sent them both into town to run errands. She would usually slip Akane enough to buy a treat for them both and as long as Kasumi didn't need the items returned quickly then they would take their time sitting and eating.

Her birthday was coming up and she wanted to spend the day with Ranma but she hadn't mentioned anything to him yet. He had gotten her gifts before but this time there would be more pressure and her family would assume that he should take her out on a really nice date. She knew he didn't have the money to spend on something like that. She had been debating asking to go camping just the two of them and maybe ask him to teach her something harder like a chi blast. While not the most romantic it would be alone time together and she really did want to start learning some of the more advanced techniques.

She saw the steps coming up and paddled herself over and pulled herself out of the river. It didn't take her long to find the others. Makoto was wading in the shallower area of the pool so Akane joined her and watched Ranma goofing off. She wished she was a strong swimmer but it seemed no matter how hard she tried she sank to the bottom. She caught Yuka's eye and waved, Ranma was still facing away from her but she saw her friend splash the red head and point her direction. As soon as Ranma saw her, she started swimming back to the shallow area. The waves carried her easily and she was using them to pick up speed, staying on the crest of one wave for a long time before allowing the next one to pick her up. Akane knew it was silly but she hated how easy her fiancé made swimming look. "Show off!"

Ranma made her way to where Akane and Makoto were standing but opted to stay out of arms reach. She didn't want Akane to touch her while Nabiki had that damn camera out. She could see her sitting there looking through the lens.

"Hey Ranma."

"Hey yourself. Um… I have bad news."

Akane tried to walk over to stand next to Ranma but she moved away from her each time she took a step towards her. "What's wrong?"

"Nabiki," Ranma pointed to the lounge chair then waved at the camera again.

"Maybe we should go home." Akane wondered as Yuka and the others made their way over to them as well.

Yuka frowned, "Don't let her chase you off."

"I know I shouldn't but so far Ranma has managed to have a reasonably good time. I would hate for her to ruin it."

"Look Akane, you should know that there are rumors about Ranma and you. I think Nabiki knows that she can make a lot of money if she can provide proof that you two are a couple even when he is a girl." Yuka felt really bad for participating in some of the gossip. She never bothered to think about how much the gossip had hurt her friend. Speculation about Ranma and Akane had been all over the school ever since the first day he attended Furinkan High.

"We know, even if the school wasn't already gossiping Nabiki would create some. I wouldn't be surprised to find out she had started some of the current rumors." Akane was frustrated that they had one more thing ready to ruin their day.

Ranma could tell she wasn't as relaxed about it as she was trying to pretend to be, "Look all we have to do is stay further apart and she can't alter any pictures she does get as easily."

Hiroshi and Daisuke grabbed Ranma's arms from behind her, "Yeah, simple we will steal Ranma for a while. We want to go to the deep end for a while." They pulled her backwards through the water until she shook free of them and swam out further on her own. They were almost to the deepest part when a whistle blew and the waves stopped.

"What happened?" Ranma was looking around and watching most of the other swimmers leaving the pool. Others were entering with what looked like some type of board in their hands.

"I read something about specials times that you can ride something called a boogie board and if you don't know how to use them you have to leave the pool." Daisuke and Hiroshi turned to leave the pool. They saw Ranma follow them but she was eyeing the cart of boards that had been brought out.

"See ya guys later."

Hiroshi waved, "I figured you might go try it out. We'll watch and if we think we can do it then we will join you later."

Ranma wasn't listening, she was swimming quickly and as soon as she could touch again she was running towards the cart. She grabbed a board, it was short, only covering about her head to her waist. Wading back out into the water she noticed almost all the others with boards were trying to get as far back as possible. A lifeguard was standing near the edge had a whistle in her mouth and a megaphone in her hand.

"Please listen carefully, you will need to start in turns. If you will notice your boards are different colors. Red boards go first followed by orange, then yellow, blue, blue, green, purple and finally black. I will call out the color and blow my whistle then you may take your turn."

Ranma's board was yellow. She watched those going before her carefully as the waved started back up. The lifeguard called for those with red boards and blew her whistle. Riding the waves looked easy enough, when it was Ranma's turn she kicked off and caught the wave easily. She weaved back and forth along the waves until they got too small to ride any more. It was a fun change but standing on a board would be more fun. She put the board back and joined her friends again.

Akane had watched the activity and wasn't overly impressed. When Ranma rejoined them she knew that her fiancé wasn't particularly impressed either. "So?"

"It was okay, just too easy."

"Well then we should go try it." Hiroshi pulled Daisuke up and they went to get their own boards, wading in along the wall where others were returning to the back of the pool.

Akane watched as they tried to do the same thing they had watched Ranma do with the board. Both guys ended up upside down and losing their board. "Guess they didn't find it so easy."

Ranma frowned, "It wasn't hard at all."

"Ranma, what is easy to you is still hard to most people. Especially those two."

She thought about what Akane had said and realized something that she had been missing for a while now was the challenge that came along with their crazier friends. The amazons were gone, Ryoga was unwelcome at the Tendo house, and Ukyo never attacked him anyway. Kuno was about all that was left unless some random challenger showed up. Things were certainly getting boring.

They spent another hour at the park before heading home. Once again the girls cleared out the changing room for Ranma and she quickly changed back into her normal red top and loose fitting pants.

"Akane, I'm going on out."

"I want to dry my hair, just remember to let the others know you are done in here."

"Yeah I know." She let Makoto and Shikako, who were standing guard on the pool side entrance know she was done and left quickly. Once outside Yuke and Sayuri caught her arms and pulled her away from the doorway.

"Hey… whatcha doing?"

"We have to talk to you." They made sure Akane wasn't around and leaned in to whisper to Ranma. "You know Akane's birthday is next week right?"

"Huh… what? It is?"

"Yes dummy, and since you two are all official now and everything, she will expect you to take her out on a nice date." Yuka was amazed that Ranma didn't know. _Why didn't one of her sisters make sure he knew about such an important thing?_

"She will?" Ranma was trying to back away from the girls but they still have ahold of his arms. "A nice date?"

Sayuri piped up, "A romantic date and a present too."

"A present too?" Ranma was in shock. _Why didn't anyone tell me before this?_ She couldn't believe Nabiki hadn't used it as a way to embarrass them. "Um, what do I get her?"

"She's your fiancé, you have to figure it out."

"But…"

"It HAS to be romantic."

"…romantic?"

Akane stepped out of the changing room, she had taken a little extra time to dry and brush her hair as well as put on a little perfume and lip gloss. When she saw Hiroshi and Daisuke standing at the meeting spot by themselves she was confused. Hiroshi was holding a bucket of water and waved at her.

"Where's Ranma?"

"Sorry Hiroshi, I was just going to ask you that." She frowned as realized that she didn't see Yuka and Sayuri either. "I'll go look for them." Walking down the sidewalk she called for them several times before she saw Yuka's head appear around a corner.

"Coming Akane!" Turning to Ranma she warned her, "You shouldn't tell Akane you had to find out from us."

"But how was I supposed to know. I got here after her birthday last year, she was already 16."

"Yeah I know, you arrived the day after her birthday. We had surprised her with a little party at my house and then we found out the following Monday that she was suddenly engaged and doesn't want to be. You kind of ruined her good mood that weekend."

"I couldn't help it, my dad made me come then." She gritted her teeth at the other girl and clenched her fists. They were really starting to irritate her, "It's not like I wanted to be engaged either."

Akane walked over to where she had seen Yuka and stopped when she heard Ranma say _I didn't want to be engaged either._ They had said that kind of thing a lot but Akane had stopped over the last couple of months. Now instead she just told people they weren't getting married until they were older and ready to get married. It hurt to hear Ranma deny wanting to be engaged. She stepped around the corner and all three girls stopped talking and her fiancé looked especially guilty.

"Ranma, I think Hiroshi has some hot water for you. You should hurry before it cools down."

"Okay" Akane looked hurt and she didn't know why. _I will wait until later to ask her about her birthday._

Hiroshi did have a bucket of water and Ranma took it, dumping it smoothly over her head. Shaking out his hair, he handed the bucket back to Hiroshi. Both guys were blinking at him. "What's wrong with you two?"

"That is really strange to watch happen."

"You've seen it before."

"Not very often. It is still kinda fascinating."

"Idiots!" Ranma rolled his eyes and stalked off to where Akane was waiting for him.

00000

Nabiki had watch the whole group leave and follow a short distance behind. _The changing room should provide me with a good opportunity._ By the time she got there a few people were standing outside while Makoto and Shikako were blocking the door. _So that is their solution huh?_ She leaned against the wall nearby and waited, after a few minutes she heard Ranma's female voice. The girls all entered the changing room, followed by those waiting to get it. She slipped in after everyone else and looked around but Ranma was gone. Akane on the other hand was in front of the mirror brushing her hair, pulling out her camera she snapped a few pictures of her sister putting in a little extra effort for her fiancé. _These might sell if I can make a set out of them._

"What the hell are you doing with a camera out in the changing room?"

A woman with her teenage daughter beside her was glaring daggers at her.

Nabiki shifted her gaze away from Akane and coolly replied, "Mind your own business."

"I will notify management."

"Do whatever you would like." Looking around she saw that Akane was gone. _Damn_

Others in room began gathering around her demanding to know why she had a camera out. When she finally talked her way out of the changing room Ranma and Akane were nowhere to be found. _I will find a way to use those two to get the money back I had to waste today._


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Ranma 1/2

**AN:** Not much to say about this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (wriggles eyebrows suggestively).

Chapter 6 – Oh my

Akane and Ranma were walking home together from the pool and he could tell she was sulking. They had had a decent time at the water park even though Nabiki had shown up. Now he had her birthday to think about, there was no way he could afford both a nice present and a nice date. _I really don't want to borrow money from Nabiki again. _He had no idea how he was going to come up with some money. The cat café was where he used to work from time to time and made decent tips as a waitress. Maybe he could talk to Ukyo and see if she needed help but according to Konatsu she paid terrible. Maybe he could talk to Kasumi and see if she had any ideas. He reached out to take Akane's hand but she pulled away.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You are fine with trying to hold my hand while I am a girl but now you won't."

"Nothing is wrong with me." Akane had been fine until she overheard him tell Yuka that he didn't want to be engaged to her. She didn't want to get married anytime soon but she had assumed they were still engaged and that they would get married eventually. _I guess after the fight with Kodachi when Ranma kissed me in front of the whole school and told our fathers that they would have to wait until he asked her meant he doesn't think of me as his fiancé anymore._

"You aren't acting like nothing is wrong."

"I'm fine."

_Yeah right. _ He dropped it for now. Had she expected him to kiss her in the changing room before they left? Maybe something happened after he had walked out. They continued to walk in silence through town, past shops and food stands. He was starting to get hungry but figured that it was better to wait until they got home to see if Kasumi had anything in the fridge.

Akane knew it was silly to be mad but it had simply hurt too much. Even when she denied wanting to be engaged to Ranma in the past, she still had always liked the times when he had claimed her as his. He didn't do that with the others girls and it had made her feel special. Once they had confessed their feelings and became a real couple, she had liked the idea that they could be more open about the engagement. The idea that they could technically get married anytime they wanted to was both scary and empowering. She glanced at the shop windows as they walked in silence.

Ranma slowed and walked a few paces behind Akane, desperately trying to figure out what he might have done wrong. _Did she think something inappropriate happened when Yuka and Sayuri talked to me around the corner? _

"Um… Akane?"

"What Ranma?"

"You know your friends just wanted to tell me something? Nothing weird happened or anything back there."

"Why would I think that?"

"Cause I can't figure out anything else that you would be mad at me for."

"It's not important."

"If it weren't important then you wouldn't be mad at me for something."

"Wasn't"

"What?"

"If it wasn't important…"

"Now is not the time for a grammar lesson!"

Both lapsed back into silence. Ranma felt more confused. He had been confident that he had figured out what the problem had been. Even if she didn't like to admit it, Akane got jealous easily. It usually made him feel good, like today with the lifeguard.

Akane wandered over to a few store fronts and gazed through the windows. A jewelry store had a display of necklaces with various heart shapes. They were really pretty and came with various colors of stones on them. _Someday maybe he will get me a romantic gift like that._ _Hearts are something you can't get for yourself._ She sighed and started to walk away from the display.

Ranma watched her linger over the jewelry window longer than she had at any other window. _Jewelry is usually really expensive; I hope she doesn't expect that sort of thing from me. Maybe someday, but no way could I do that now._ He heard her sigh out loud and moved closer to see what she was looking at. The front of the display had a variety of wedding sets with large sparkling diamonds.

"IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE EXPECTING FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY, A WEDDING RING?"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

People were giving them disapproving looks and many crossed the street to get away from the belligerent couple.

"YOU'RE LOOKING AT THEM; YOUR BIRTHDAY IS NEXT WEEK. WHAT THE HELL? WE SAID WE DIDN'T WANT TO GET MARRIED WHILE WE WERE STILL IN HIGHSCHOOL."

"WHY WOULD IT MATTER TO YOU WHAT I WANT AND WHAT I WAS LOOKING AT. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU WANT TO BE ENGAGED TO ME ANYWAY." She didn't want to cry but she could feel the tears forming. She just wanted to get out of there. She turned her eyes to Ranma, who was looking back at her with a stunned look on his face. "FINE YOU GET YOUR WISH. WE DON'T HAVE TO BE ENGAGED."

He couldn't find a reply. Where in the world had she gotten the idea that he didn't want to be engaged? Sure they both had said they didn't want to be numerous times but they stopped denying it after the duel with Kodachi. She was his fiancé and the only one he wanted. _How could she not know that?_ "A…Akane…"

Tears fell gently down her cheek, taking a deep breath she turned to walk home again. "For your information I wasn't looking at the wedding rings."

He watched her walk away before turning to the window display again. Behind the wedding sets was a row of heart pendants with colored stones. The one in the middle caught his eye; it was silver with 2 hearts that were shaped to look like an infinity symbol. At the crossing point of the hearts there was a small yellow gem. Glancing again at the direction Akane had disappeared, he debated running after her. _She is the one being stupid this time. She is the one mad at me for no reason._ He entered the shop instead of following her.

Ukyo was sweeping the sidewalk in front of her shop. It had been a good day for business and she was enjoying a short lull after a lunch time rush. She looked around at the people traveling up and down the street and spotted Akane. Raising her hand to wave and call out to the girl, hoping Ranma was nearby too, she noticed her rival had her head down and appeared to be crying. _I wonder what happened. _Instead of getting Akane's attention she scanned the crowd for Ranma. Ranma wasn't avoiding her anymore but he never visited her shop without Akane in tow. They would be out running errands or come by after school; visit, gossip and eat, then leave together. It was annoying that they only seemed to be getting along better as the weeks went by; this was the first sign of trouble. _Maybe Ranma did something stupid like he used to do all the time and made her cry._

In the jewelry shop Ranma waited until an employee noticed him and ask if he was interested in seeing anything in the displays. He pointed to the necklace with the yellow stone in the window, "How much is that one?"

"Oh that is a pretty one, must be for a pretty lady." He set the necklace under a bright display light so that the little stone sparkled as much as it could. "This one is sterling silver plated with white gold and the stone is known as citrine. Because it is not solid gold it is more affordable. Only 8,000 yen."

_8000 yen! _He had a small amount of money stashed in his room but there was no way he had 8000. He might have as much as 1000 but that was all. Kasumi often sent him on errands for her and told him the left over change was his to keep for taking his time to help her. This usually only amounted to a few hundred yen and he had to hide it from his father. He knew it was a way for him to be able to afford to pay for the small things he and Akane did together, like the water park today. He was grateful to her for those little quiet things she did to help them. How would he get that much in a week?

"Um… thank you. I'm not going to buy it today but I will come back."

"I can hold it for a few days if you would like. That would make sure no one else could buy it before you came back."

"No thanks." He felt bad knowing he probably wouldn't be back.

He left the store and walked slowly home. As he walked he started getting angry with Akane. _We promised to talk to each other. We promised to listen. She isn't doing either… Idiot._ He wasn't sure how he was going to get her to talk but she was sure as hell going to tell him why she thought he didn't want to be engaged to her anymore.

Ukyo stayed outside for several more minutes tidying up and adjusting her sign. Finally she spotted Ranma walking down the street looking lost in his thoughts.

"Ranchan!"

"Oh hi Uc-chan."

"You look down in the dumps honey. Want to come in for a snack?"

"I should be getting back home soon. Akane is upset with me and I don't know why."

"Sugar, maybe you should let her be for a while, she was crying when she ran past here. Give her some space." _And spend some time with me for a change._

"Yeah alright. But I don't want to stay long, for some reason she says we aren't engaged anymore and I want to know why. She wouldn't explain befor she ran off."

He followed Ukyo into the shop and they chatted while she made him his favorite order. He told her about the water park, skipping the parts where Hiroshi and Daisuke tried to embarrass him. She laughed when he talked about the fast slide and cringed when he mentioned that he had encountered hot water.

"She shouldn't have made up go to a water park but I guess you made the best of it didn't you?"

"We had a good time. I've always had to go swimming as a girl, not like it was anything new."

She hated that as he told the stories he kept saying 'we' or 'Akane and I' this and that. "It just seems a little selfish to me and then she has the nerve to get mad at you and not tell you why. Something is up."

"I should get going; I need to figure out why she is upset."

"Are you sure? You are welcome to stay and visit as long as you like, I could make you another."

"Thanks Uc-chan but I really need to get her to talk to me."

She watched him leave the shop and balled her fists at her sides. _Ugg, why is he being such a decent guy to her now? I wish they would go back to fighting all the time._

00000

Akane was still crying when she reached the gate to her house. Glad to be finally home she thought that if she could sneak upstairs to her room then maybe her family would leave her alone. If she explained to them that Ranma didn't really want to be engaged then their fathers would be angry with him and she didn't want to deal with that right now. She made it to the stairs and was half way up when Kasumi started down.

"Akane, what's the matter?"

"Nothing"

"I doubt it is nothing. Can't you tell me?" Kasumi took her little sister gently by the arm and guided her to the young girl's bedroom. Once inside she sat with Akane on her bed and placed an arm around her shoulders without saying anything. Their mother had always done that when they were upset. She would wait patiently for them to finally say what was bothering them, even if it meant leaving a chore undone or making supper late.

Akane cried against her sister for almost 10 minutes before she mumbled, "He doesn't want to be engaged."

"Ranma broke off the engagement?"

"No, I overheard him say that he didn't want be engaged to me." Akane pull her towel out of her bag and wiped her tears. Taking a deep breath she tried to explain.

"Akane, you might be wrong about what you heard. You should talk to Ranma. Where is he?"

"He didn't follow me home; I don't know where he is." Akane wasn't used to not knowing where Ranma was. He was always nearby these days or returned quickly if he had to go somewhere without her. "Kasumi, did you tell Ranma that my birthday was next week?"

"No. You asked me not to. You should tell him. It might hurt his feelings if he finds out from someone else."

"Somehow he knows. Nabiki probably told him, she likes to cause trouble." She felt calmer now and was starting to feel guilty. She knew what she had heard but what if there was a good reason for Ranma to say that. Now that Ranma had found out about her birthday she would have to let him know that she didn't expect him to spend any money on him. "I didn't tell him because I want to ask him for a day together and for him to teach me something new. That way it didn't cost him any money."

"I'm sure you can still ask him for that and I bet he will be glad to spend the day with you."

"I kind of yelled at him today, he might not want to spend time with me at all."

Kasumi hugged her sister and smiled, "He will forgive you for yelling, he always has."

Once Ranma was home again he marched up the stairs, passing Kasumi in the hallway, and knocked on Akane's door. "Open up."

Akane had hoped the knock she heard was Kasumi coming back but it was too loud and obnoxious to be her sweet sister. When she heard Ranma's voice she panicked, scrambling to her mirror she could see her face was still red and puffy. He would be able to tell she had been crying. "Leave me alone."

That reply meant she wasn't ready to talk yet and he started to walk away. Abruptly he stopped and returned to her door. "No." He barged into her room and slammed the door behind him. "You are going to tell me why you think I don't want to be engaged to you. I am not leaving here until you at least explain that."

"I told you to leave me alone." When she got no reply she looked up at Ranma. He was glaring at her with his arms crossed tightly. "Fine be stubborn, I heard you say it. You said that you didn't want to be engaged to me."

"No way, I didn't say that."

"I heard you loud and clear."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Don't play dumb, it was your voice I heard. You said 'I didn't want to be engaged either.'" Akane sat on her bed and stared at her hands. She was squeezing them together trying to distract herself so that she wouldn't start crying again.

Ranma leaned against the wall and tried to think about when he might have said what she was accusing him of. "Did I say this today?" When Akane only nodded he thought about their day. They were together most of the water park and she was in a good mood there. In fact, while they were there she was more worried about him having fun; she wasn't worried about being engaged. She had been the one to use the term 'just friends' earlier today. After the water park her friends had cornered him. It was after that she had started acting weird and wouldn't hold his hand.

He crossed the room and sat down in front on her on the floor and placed his hand on top of hers. Looking up at her to catch her eyes, "Did I say that when Yuka and Sayuri were talking to me?"

Again she nodded not trusting her voice.

"You know, I don't remember saying that but if I did, I didn't mean it. I want to be engaged to you."

"You really don't remember?"

"I remember they pulled me away quickly to hide from you so that they could tell me something important." He wasn't supposed to admit he hadn't known about her birthday so he wasn't really sure how to explain their conversation.

"What was so important?"

"Um… I am supposed to keep it a secret."

"You promised not to keep secrets from me."

"And we both promised to talk to each other before getting mad AND to listen to the other before jumping to conclusions. You broke both of those promises." He had spoken with more anger in his voice than he intended.

Akane heard the anger in his voice but also saw hurt in his eyes. "I did, didn't I? I'm really sorry. I came to find you and heard you shout that and it hurt. Then I thought I must have been a fool. Here I was thinking all this time that you and I were still engaged and now maybe you didn't think the same way." Akane lowered her head even more trying to avoid looking at him.

"I am keeping a secret but it isn't a bad one. Trust me." He tried to think of something he could tell her to cheer her up, "Um… well I guess, they told me that I had to make up for ruining your birthday last year." _There, I didn't admit that I didn't know when her birthday was._

She frown at him, "You weren't here for my birthday last year. I was at a party the girls threw for me." She had had a great time at the party; they had laughed and watched movies all night. Ranma had shown up with his father the next day and her life was never the same again.

"That's what I said but apparently I ruined your weekend when Pop and I came here."

"I guess the girls would see it that way, I was in a pretty bad mood at school the following Monday. But that really isn't your fault. I was really mad that Dad had never told me about the possible engagement and then suddenly you were here and we were engaged and didn't want to be."

"Exactly! That's what I…" Ranma's mouth dropped open and he stared wide-eyed at Akane, "You idiot."

"What? Why am I an idiot?"

"That's when I said it."

She sent him a questioning look. He was shaking his head at her and then softly banged his head against her leg. "Ranma?"

"They accused me of ruining your weekend and it was pissing me off because I had no control over it. Pop made me come here instead of finding a cure in China." Ranma stood up and sat on the bed next to Akane. "Yuka said that you didn't want to be engaged last year, which I already knew that, so I said to her something about how I didn't want to be engaged either."

He pulled Akane into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. "Do you see now? You heard the end of our conversation. I didn't want to be engaged back then, I wanted to go back to China and find a cure."

"I'm really sorry Ranma. I screwed up."

"Ha, better you than me." He pulled on her chin to make her look him in the eye, "Akane, I love you. I really do like being your fiancé."

"I love you too Ranma." She put her hand on his cheek. She kissed him, keeping it brief and sweet. "This was all my fault."

"It was bound to happen eventually. It is usually mostly my fault." He grinned at her, glad to have figured out what was bothering her and how to fix it. She had scared him when she said they didn't have to be engaged. "You owe me another apology by the way."

"I do? What for?"

"You have been acting like your birthday isn't coming up."

"Oh well, it isn't important."

"Of course it's important. You'll finally be as old as me." His grin was wide as he teased her. "What do you want for your birthday anyway?"

"I want to spend the day with you." She hesitated to ask for the new training yet. "Maybe we could head back to that spot up the mountain that you like and just be alone."

"I'm sure we could do that."

"So if you are older than me… when is your birthday?"

"Uh… well… Jan. 1st."

"We missed it! Kasumi would have cooked you whatever you wanted. Why didn't you say anything?" She watched his face. He seemed sad, obviously it had hurt him that no one mentioned his birthday or bothered to acknowledge it.

"It isn't important."

"But we missed celebrating it."

"Can't miss something you never had."

Akane thought that was an odd statement. "What do you usually do?"

"Just let it go Akane." He had travel with his father for most of his life and more often than not they were broke. There had never been a special meal or a gift. Some years they had been near an area that did fireworks for the New Year and he would pretend they were for him.

"I can't let it go. I need to make it up to you somehow."

"Look we weren't really a couple then so you don't need to feel guilty." He had a bad feeling that she was going to push this until he told her everything. He didn't want her to feel bad for him. So what if he never had friends who would throw him a party. He didn't really regret his life with his father, not until the curse. At least he had learned so many different techniques that it seemed worth it.

"You were at least my friend then, even if we weren't a couple… officially… I loved you and would have wanted to make the day special for you."

He hugged her tight against him. "Thank you. Tell you what? You can have your way next year. So stop worrying."

She had misunderstood Ranma so many times in the past, he forgave her over and over again. "I feel so bad for ruining our day."

"Yeah you ruined it pretty good."

Akane was shocked at what he said. _Is he trying to make me feel worse?_ "I said I was sorry."

"You said you wanted to make up for missing my birthday… how about instead you make up for doubting me."

"Oh… and how should I do that?" She huffed and tried to crawl out of his lap but he held her in place.

"Well I wanted to hold your hand on the walk home." He laced his fingers with hers and squeezed her hand.

Her face softened, "I think I can do that."

"But I think there should be more." His eyes grew mischievous.

Her lips twitched before she leaned forward and pecked his lips. "Something like that?"

"Yeah… something…" He let go of her hand, running his own up the length of her arm, still supporting her back with the other hand. "… but more like…" He spread his fingers across the back of her neck and pressed her lips to his. He deepened the kiss immediately, pouring all his desires from the day into it. As he remembered touching her waist on the slide, her bare waist on display in that bikini, he took the hand at her back and pulled the edge of her shirt from her waistband and pushed under it to feel that smooth skin again. He rubbed and squeezed along her back and waist.

He was driving her crazy; his hand was roaming over her skin, warming it everywhere he touched. She moaned against his mouth and tried to pull away, wanting to give him access to her neck. She felt the hand at her neck tense and he prevented her from pulling out of the kiss. Instead he pushed his tongue against hers and explored her mouth. Not wanting to be outdone, she pushed back with hers until he relented and she moved her tongue over his tongue and cheeks.

Finally he pulled back breathing heavily and planting kisses along her cheek bones and jaw line. Her skin still tasted slightly of chlorine from the park and salt from her tears. "Still not enough." He tossed her on her back on the bed and stretched over her allowing most of his weight to rest beside her. The half of his body that was covering hers was keeping her pinned to the bed. Again he captured her mouth, kissing her until he needed air. His hand found its way back under her shirt to caress the skin of her belly. Her bra was in the way so he traced his fingers lightly along the edge and was rewarded when she shivered beneath him. She panted and moaned as he continued to play with the edges of the lacy undergarment and moved his mouth up and down her neck.

00000

Kasumi called up the stairs that dinner was ready. Nabiki had gotten home a short time ago and went straight to the bath. She had smelled like pool water as she walked past Kasumi. Figuring she had gone to the water park to hassle Ranma and Akane, she didn't tell her sister that they were both already home. She didn't like to lie so she didn't but she also didn't have to give her sister any help getting pictures of the couple. Climbing the stairs she lightly knocked on Akane's door. Her little sister didn't reply, nor did she hear Ranma's voice. She listened for a moment at the door and started to look elsewhere for the pair when she heard her sister moan. _Oh dear, I hope she isn't sick._ She opened the door to check on Akane. Her hand flew to her heart when she saw them intertwined on the bed. "Oh my!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Ranma 1/2

**AN: **I have to admit the next couple of chapters are fluffy as I transition to the next challenge. I thought for now a few teenage hormones to deal with were challenging enough. R&R as you like.

Chapter 7 – A Crack in the Ice

Ranma heard 'Oh my' from the door and shot off the bed, unfortunately his hand was tangled under Akane's shirt. He was thrown off balance and landed hard on the floor. His situation was further complicated when Akane landed on top of him, his hand still under her shirt. He quickly pulled his hand out and looked away from both girls blushing profusely.

Akane had had no time to react, the moment she registered that her sister had opened the door and spoken, Ranma pulled her off the bed. As soon as she could, she disengaged herself from her fiancé and sat down on her bed again.

Kasumi stared at them, their embarrassment was palpable. She didn't know quite how to handle the situation, they were both fully clothed so nothing really bad had happened. They were still engaged, or at least she figured it was a reasonable assumption, so intimacy was somewhat expected. But they were so young and she didn't want to see them make a mistake they would regret later. She decided not to say anything right now; she would find a time soon to speak with them privately. Dinner was on the table and she needed some time herself to figure out what to say to the young couple.

"Oh… well… dinner is ready." She backed out of the room and reclosed the door.

They both were blushing as they looked at each other. Against Ranma's will a small smile formed, Akane looked so pretty with the blush across her nose and looking disheveled. Knowing she looked messy because she'd been lost in the moment with him was thrilling.

"Why are you smiling? We are in big trouble."

"Awe… not really. I mean we really didn't do anything terribly wrong." He scooted over and sat on the floor by her feet again. He was worried she might be mad about how he had acted but when he felt her brush his bangs away from his face he relaxed against her.

"We need to be more careful."

"In a house that is always full of people that means we are always at risk of being caught." Ranma pouted. They had found ways to be sneaky and find time alone but there was always that chance. He just wanted to get away from it with her. She wanted to hike up the mountain for her birthday, maybe nobody would show up this time. If he could find a gift for her too, then giving it to her while they were alone would be less embarrassing.

She stood up and tucked her shirt back into her shorts. "Let's get downstairs before they have to come looking for us again."

"Oh yeah, dinner." Ranma hopped up from the floor and put his hand in hers.

She pulled him back to her as he tried to pull them out the door. Wrapping her arms around his waist she hugged him tightly and felt him return the embrace. "I'm glad you are still my fiancé."

"Come on my sexy little tomboy, I'm hungry!"

They arrived downstairs to find everyone else already at the table. Nabiki gave them a surprised look then turned her eyes to Kasumi. Ranma and Akane didn't know what Nabiki was irritated about but her face was certainly sour. They took their seats beside each other and Ranma dug in immediately.

Akane had trouble meeting Kasumi's gaze. She was sure her sister was very disappointed in them. She hated the idea of upsetting her oldest sister, who had been her surrogate mother for so long. She ate slowly and joined very little of the conversation at the table. Ranma was mostly acting like nothing had happened, fighting with his father over food and talking about the fast slide at the water park. She did notice that although he answered any questions that Kasumi asked, he was avoiding looking directly at her most of the meal as well.

While she was in bed that night Akane couldn't help but smile, remembering that Ranma had called her sexy. She knew he loved her and that he like making out with her, it felt silly that one little word could affect her so much. The idea that he found her sexy, when he had been groped by Shampoo almost daily and Kodachi was more than willing to press her body against him as well, made her feel warm inside. _Should I try to dress a little more sexily? _Akane frowned at her own thoughts, "He already finds me sexy. I shouldn't have to change."

Ranma was lying on his futon lost in his own thoughts when his father entered the room. "Hey Pop, has Mom said when she is coming back from Okinawa." After Jusenkyo Ranma had been so out of sorts that he didn't notice for a week that his mother wasn't staying at the Tendo residence. When he had bothered asking his father where she was, he had explained that her dearest friend in Okinawa was very ill and his mother was staying with her to take care of her. Ranma figured whatever she has must be really bad because his mother was staying a really long time. She had written to him several times to say how much she missed him and how proud she was that he had become so manly. She called sometimes during the day but so far Ranma had never been home at the time. He was usually at school so his father would pass along the messages.

Genma thought for a moment, "She will probably call or write again soon. I will make sure to ask her but her friend is very dear to her. I am sure she will want to stay until the very end."

"Her friend is going to die?"

Genma nodded, "Eventually, doctors have not found a cure for her condition."

"That is pretty sad, I hope Mom is okay. Maybe Akane and I could visit her some weekend."

"That wouldn't be a good idea. I am sure she is very busy caring for her dear friend. Don't worry son, she will be back before you know it." Genma rolled over and soon was snoring loudly.

The next morning Ranma sparred with his father in the yard, he was feeling pretty cocky that he had landed his dad in the koi pond but managed to avoid it himself. "Nice try old man but I ain't going in the water today." He heard Akane yell goodbye and looked over to see her leaving the gate, admiring the short skirt she had selected to wear today. The panda took the opening to haul Ranma over his head and send him splashing into the pond.

"Dammit Pop, you're going to pay for that." The fight continued as the rest of the family went about their morning. Afterwards Ranma went to heat up a kettle but found one already warm on the stove. He used it and replaced it on the back burner, deciding to let his father fend for himself. Going in search of Kasumi he finally located her working on the washing.

"Hey Kasumi, thanks for heating up the kettle."

"Think nothing of it Ranma. I knew one or both of you would need it."

"Do you know where Akane was heading this morning?"

"She is taking a plate of cookies to Dr. Tofu for me."

He grinned and raised his eyebrows, "Cookies?"

She laughed, "I made plenty. You can have some later."

Ranma started to leave and then remembered that he wanted to ask her about Akane's birthday, "Um… Kasumi? I need help coming up with an idea for Akane's birthday; I don't have much money so I can't afford what I want to get her."

"I don't think she cares if you spend any money on her."

"I was told I have to get her something romantic."

"Well I will think on it then."

"Thanks again."

He left the washroom and nearly ran into Nabiki. _Probably eavesdropping again._ "Hey Nabiki, have a good time at the water park yesterday?"

"It was lovely." She glowered at him, "You know, maybe if you got a job you could afford to get her a romantic gift."

"I can't find a job and make enough in a week, not with school too."

"I could offer you a very generous interest rate on a loan."

"No thanks, it took me forever to pay off the last one." He walked around her and went downstairs to find something to do until Akane returned.

00000

Akane entered the waiting room at Dr. Tofu's office and greeted the older lady who was already waiting. "Hello Mrs. Satou. It is nice to see you today?"

The older lady inclined her head in return, "Hello Miss Akane. Does he let you pay him in cookies dear?"

Akane giggled at the idea, "I don't think it would be a good idea for him to accept cookies as payment. My sister Kasumi made them for him, I am just delivering them."

"Oh dear, that might be bad for my appointment. If you are not in a hurry could you maybe wait to give those to him until after my visit is over? I really need my hip looked at properly, it is giving me such pains lately."

Akane giggled again, "Yes I think I can do that. Maybe I should remind my sister that these deliveries should be made at the end of the day."

"Too bad he can't keep his wits about him long enough to ask her on a date."

Akane nodded in agreement and set the plate on a table beside her. Dr. Tofu walked his current client out of the exam room, smiling when at her as soon as he saw her there.

"Hello Akane, are you hurt?"

"No Dr. Tofu, I just need to see you for a few minutes. Please continue with your next appointment, I am not in a hurry."

The old lady stood carefully and heavily used her cane to walk to the exam room with the doctor close behind. He helped her up on the exam couch he had in the room and waited while she got more comfortable.

He had noticed a covered plate on the little table next to Akane. He hoped they were cookies from Kasumi, she made wonderful cookies. They were never too hard or too soft and had the perfect amount of nuts or other flavors in them. They always smelled perfect and she made sure each one was perfectly round. _Everything she makes is perf…._

A sharp pain exploded in his skull. When his eyes refocused he was staring at his elderly patient, whose cane was resting on his head.

"Stay with me Doc. I need you to fix my hip." She shook her head. _He figured out that Akane must have brought food from Kasumi. I hope he isn't a lost cause yet._

"Of course, sorry my mind had wandered."

"That much was obvious."

Dr. Tofu blushed and looked contrite. Putting one hand up to his head, he tugged lightly on his small ponytail and smiled a little too broadly. "So what is wrong with your hip?"

"I've got some pain running down from it to my knee."

The doctor had her lie back and used various pressure points to relief much of the pain. Helping her sit back up he advised her to return for some testing if the pain returned.

"Thank you doctor. It feels much better now." She eyed him carefully, "You know doctor. There isn't a young man in this town that hasn't heard about Kasumi's sweet nature and excellent cooking. One of these days a smarter man than you won't hesitate to make a move."

He was staring back at her with a dazed look. "Kasumi… sweet… cooking."

She brought her cane crashing down on his head again. When he seemed to be able to register his surroundings again she looked up at the ceiling and shook her head. _God help us all if he ever works up the nerve to ask her out._ Raising her cane again she saw him flinch and grinned. Instead she used it to point to the door, "Go get your cookies."

She hopped down from the table feeling spryer and made her way towards the exit. "Thank you for waiting Akane. I'm sure you want to get back to that stud muffin boyfriend of yours."

Akane blushed and waved goodbye then picked up the plate of cookies to give them to the doctor. "These are chocolate chip cookies from Kasumi, she wanted to try out a new American recipe she found today. She says that they will stay softer longer."

He bowed automatically and took the plate from her hands, "Thank you for bringing them and tell Kasumi thank you. I'll put these in the kitchen and bring your plate out to you."

His grin was too broad; Akane knew he might not make it to the kitchen. "Actually doctor, you should bring the plate back later when you are done with patients for the day and thank her yourself."

"Oh… um… sure I could do that."

"You know," Akane smiled sweetly at him, "She loves flowers; that would be a wonderful way to say thank you."

"Oh… um… flowers?"

"She was wearing a pink bow today in her hair. Flowers that matched her bow would be perfect."

_Perfect. _He turned and walked into the wall behind him. Someone put their hand on his elbow and guided him through a doorway. _Kasumi is perfect._

Akane was pretty sure the doctor had forgotten she was in the room. _Come on Doctor, if Ranma and I can admit our feelings anyone can._

00000

The lone figure stood at the start of a hiking trail that lead up to some of the Mt. Fuji shrines. These days there were many shrines near the summit of the still active volcano. Apparently this country worshipped the visually symmetrical peak and spiritual pilgrimages became increasingly common over the last 300 years. According to articles on the shrines there were two likely shrines that could be old enough to house the scroll or other object. This path included access to the Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine, a shrine that had been confirmed to have been at that location for nearly 450 years. The most troubling bit of information that they had come across was that the shrine had been mostly destroyed when the volcano erupted in 1707. Although rebuilt it was unclear how much had been excavated. _I did not come all this way to be stopped by lava._

There was a train available to ride part way up the mountain but limiting the number of people who saw them was important. Funds were also starting to run low. The figure was no stranger to traveling without the aid of modern technology, it may take longer but traveling on foot as much as possible would be best.

00000

Akane arrived home to find Ranma in the dojo. He had a blind fold over his eyes and both their fathers were coming at him from various angles. Her father was using a wooden practice sword while his father was attacking barehanded. She watched as her fiancé smoothly pivoted dodging the sword and countering his father's attacks. Genma was regularly masking his aura but each time he moved to attack his aura returned but only very slightly, just enough that Ranma could sense it and react in time. She doubted anyone else besides her fiancé could see through the technique as easily.

Ranma smiled when he felt the familiar presence of his fiancé. He was using his chi to heighten his senses so that he could fight blind. Even though Akane wasn't projecting her battle aura he could still sense her natural aura. "Heya Akane, how did Dr. Tofu like the cookies?"

Akane was amazed as she watched him duck under another sword attack, wave at her, then turn and kick his father away from him. "He walked into a wall, almost broke the plate I think." The two older men had started to pant heavily; they had obviously been at this for a while.

Genma called out to her, "Wow that is a really short skirt you are wearing Akane, must be wearing it for Ranma."

Ranma heard her protest but the image of her leaving the property earlier flashed in his mind and he lost control of his soul of ice and his chi momentary. It was enough of an opening for both men to hit his back and send him flying into the wall face first.

Akane cringed and ran over to check on him. "Are you okay? How did they get through?"

"I'm fine." He stood up and felt a little dizzy and sat back down again. "Did you two have to hit me that hard?"

Genma crossed his arms over his puffed out chest, "My boy you have a weak spot."

"I do not."

His father marched over and pointed right in his face, "You do and she is sitting right there. She distracted you this morning and just now."

Akane gripped Ranma's arm, "Oh Ranma, I'm sorry I came in the dojo to watch. I have watched so many of your trainings and fights; I didn't think it would be a problem."

"It's not a problem." He glared at his father, "She is not my weakness. I have accomplished more because of her."

Akane began to argue as well when her father cut her off. "Akane, you and I should go back to the house. Saotome needs to explain this to Ranma more privately I think."

She frowned at her father then looked at Ranma. He was looking a little guilty and nodded for her to leave. "Alright," still frowning she followed her father out of the dojo.

Genma remained where he was standing, "Have you figured it out yet?"

"She isn't a weakness."

"You are attracted to your fiancé, which is great, since it will unite the school and make your father very proud." Tears were streaming down his face as he allowed himself to envision their long time plan finally becoming a reality. Suddenly his face became stern again, "Your perverted thoughts are the distraction. You saw her legs this morning and left an opening then just now you were blind folded and a mention of her short skirt was enough for you to lose your control over your Soul of Ice."

His father was right; he had to find a way to control those thoughts while fighting. He couldn't keep her safe if the mere mention of her shifted his thoughts away from the task at hand. "I will find a way to get rid of the weakness."

"Good," He nodded at the boy, "I think a cup of tea sounds good."

Ranma sat blind folded on the floor of the dojo after his father left. _I can't let myself become distractible like Happosai. I'm not a pervert._ He couldn't ask Akane to purposefully try to distract him, as fun as that would be. He would think about it some more later.

Rising he went in search of Akane. It didn't take him long to find her, she was in the kitchen with Kasumi. He really hoped that she wasn't going to help cook dinner. She had managed a few easy dishes lately so he thought there was a chance she could improve enough to not kill him one day. He listened to them from around the corner for a few minutes and overheard her grumbling about being kicked out of the dojo.

Kasumi was patiently listening to her sister complain while she cleaned the counters and rearranged the contents of the refrigerator. She was going to need some extra space for the things she needed to buy this week to make Akane's favorite meal. It had always been the same since she was a little girl, curry rice, fried calamari and dragon rolls. After dinner she would want baby castella instead of a cake. It was an odd combination that had resulted when their mother asked Akane to determine the menu for her 4th birthday. Akane had listed all her favorites and their mother made them all. Ever since then it was what Akane craved each year and since their mother's death had never deviated. Akane had manage to make the curry dish once by herself so maybe this year she would be able to teach her kitchen challenged little sister to make the fried calamari.

Akane leaned against the small table in the center of the room, "I just don't get it. Why would I be a distraction now?"

"Maybe it's because he loves you more now."

"I don't know. I don't want him to get hurt in a fight because of me again."

Ranma was touched but also a little insulted, "Gee thanks for the vote of confidence." He walked through the doorway and over to stand in front of her. Tugging her hair gently, "Want to go train?"

"Sparring, training with our fathers and now you want to train with me? You seem to have an endless supply of energy today." _Lesser men would be passed out on the floor wishing for death_. The thought made her smile.

"Yup, I'm in a good mood." Grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the kitchen, away from possible disaster.

They were in the hallway when someone knocked on the door.

"Akane, can you get answer the door?"

"Uh, no I can't, Ranma and I are going out to train."

Ranma gave her a funny look. "Why can't you answer it?"

"Shhh…" She covered his mouth with her hand and pulled him around the corner.

Kasumi put her things down in the kitchen, closed the refrigerator and walked toward the door, "Coming."

Akane peeked around the corner and motioned for Ranma to do the same, "Stay quiet."

"What you are up to?"

"Shhh… just watch."

Kasumi opened the door to find Dr. Tofu ready to knock again. "Oh, hello doctor. How are you this evening?"

Grinning foolishly he handed Kasumi the plate in his hand, "This plate told me to bring Akane back."

Sunny smile in place, Kasumi accepted the plate with a giggle, "Don't you mean Akane told you to bring the plate back?"

"Oh… um… yeah. Here, these cookies are for your bow to thank you for the flowers."

"You are speaking in riddles today doctor. Let's see… are these flowers to for me?"

Tofu nodded enthusiastically, "I shouldn't bother you; I should head back to the clinic." He turned and walked down their hallway.

Ranma and Akane jumped back before either Tofu or Kasumi saw them.

"Doctor won't you stay for tea?"

Dr. Tofu had begun laughing hysterically. _She is perfect._ "Ah thank you." He gently took the flowers from her hand and began to try and drink from them.

Kasumi put her hand in front of her mouth to keep from laughing too hard. He hadn't always been this way, when she was younger he was so polite to her and helpful with her sister's injuries but a few years ago she had gone to see him with a cake she had made as a special thank you for taking care of one of Akane's injuries. Since then he acted silly when she saw him. The others said he was only that way around her, which was a little flattering, but it made it hard for her to get an appointment.

"Why don't I put those flowers in water so that they don't wilt?" She carefully rescued the flowers and walked to the kitchen to find a vase. Adding water and the flowers to a vase she set them on display on the counter where she could smell them as she made breakfast in the morning. They were a little crumpled where he had tried to drink them but overall they were very pretty.

_I need to escape. I don't have Betty here. I'm behaving like an idiot._ He felt Kasumi take his elbow and guide him to the door. _She is kicking me out because I am an idiot._

"Dr. Tofu, I think I should walk you home. You don't look like you feel well." She gently prodded him until he walk along with her out the door.

"Man, I really want to follow them. I ain't even that bad." Ranma grinned down at Akane.

"Are you kidding me? You were worse. At least Dr. Tofu never insults her."

"Maybe if you were sweet and gentle like Kasumi I wouldn't have." He looked down at her with one eyebrow quirked. "How long has he been like this?"

"A few years"

"At least it didn't take me that long to come to my senses." He squeezed her hand.

Akane took her hand back and started for the stairs, "I'll go change into my gi. Meet you in the dojo." She found her gi in her room and changed quickly. Glancing in the mirror she changed her mind and stripped out of the more formal training attire into shorts and a tank top. The day was rather warm and it would be nice to not have the thicker fabric sticking to her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer - ** I do not own Ranma 1/2

Chapter 8 – The Talk

She was adept at jumping from her window now, landing easily with her knees bent, she continued to the dojo. "Alright, I'm ready. What are…"

"…that is not your gi!"

Akane shrugged, "This is cooler."

With the amount of skin she was showing and the fact that he loved watching her powerful muscles move, there was no way he was going to be able to maintain a soul of ice. It was a good thing he didn't really need it right now. He crossed the dojo to stand in front of her, a blind-fold, in his hand. "I thought we might work on your blind fighting as well. It will help improve your other senses. Sometimes you might have to fight in the dark or with the sun in your eyes. There are all kinds of things that can happen to make using your vision nearly impossible."

"Are you going to mask your aura like your father did?"

"Not today. We need to see what you can hear and feel first."

"Dad used to work on that a little bit with me. I haven't practiced it in a while though." She took the blind fold that Ranma handed her but didn't put it on yet. She wanted to ask him something first.

"Ranma, why did your father say I was a distraction to you?"

He blushed and looked away from her. "Don't worry about it. It is something I have to work on."

"But… I have never been a distraction to you before."

Chuckling, he pulled her into a hug, "You have always been a bit of a distraction. If you weren't falling off of something, you were nearly drowning or entering the battle. I have had to catch you more times that I can count."

"Oh I see, I am just a hindrance to you." She wanted to be irritated but he was right. She rarely did what she was told and stayed out of danger. "I'm sorry. You have gotten hurt a lot because of me."

"What is wrong with you?" He growled at her, "You are being too meek. You are not a hindrance." There were times he was irritated with her for needing rescued but he never thought twice about doing it. He had wanted her safe as long as he had known her.

"So tell me how I am a distraction so I can help. I don't want you to get hit because of me, even if it is only by our fathers." She nuzzled her face into his chest.

"Well I guess you can help. First you need to stop smiling at me, and then maybe make your skin less soft. Definitely lose the muscle tone in your legs and arms. And finally your lips… we have to do something about your lips." He leaned down and pecked her stunned mouth.

"What… you mean… how… I mean… why… or…"

He kissed her again to stop her stuttering. "If you are just now figuring out that I am attracted to you then you no longer get to be the smarter one."

"So you have to train to not be attracted to me anymore." She was crestfallen. She had gotten used to all the attention he paid her.

"Sorry… I guess you really don't get to be the smart one today," wrapping his arms tighter around her. "I just need to work on my soul of ice so that I can ignore it temporarily. I can't let it be used against me in a fight. Not if I want to still be able to keep you safe.

"Well then let's get back to training so that I can keep myself safe."

He leaned down and whispered, "I like catching you."

"I don't like that you have had to, I want to be able to do martial arts like you. I want to learn advanced techniques." She step back from him and tied on the blind fold. Stepping into her sparring stance she waited for Ranma to try and attack her. Keeping her breathing as quiet as possible, she listened carefully to the sound of his footsteps and breathing. She couldn't believe he was letting her hear him this easily.

Ranma didn't argue with her wish, in fact he had always been impressed by it. He tested her ability to track him by not moving quietly. He could see her head turn in his direction or she would shift to face him. He flipped over her, landing just out of reach of her foot that had shot out trying to catch him. _Time to see if she can parry me._

He moved faster and faster around her, changing direction often. She still tracked him well, swinging out with fists or feet but not connecting. After a few minutes of this he began to invade her space, reaching out and poking the back of her head as he flipped over her or tugging her hair as he spun past her side.

She was getting frustrated; she hadn't landed a single hit. She felt his fingers tickle her ribs and then his toes tapped her calf. She knew where he was but he was moving too fast. Without the blind fold she could probably get him once or twice. Being blinded was slowing her down too much.

He could tell she was getting irritated with the training but she wasn't complaining. He admired the focus she had for her art and although she probably didn't realize it, she was doing much better than he anticipated. He decided to move quieter to force her to focus even more. He didn't increase his attacks, still only touching her in various spots. Right now she had too many openings but as he continued she was figuring out how to close them and she was starting to move defensively.

Trying to hit him wasn't working; she needed to be able to stop one of his attacks. She finally realized that by attacking him she was leaving herself too open to an opponent who could see her. Shifting her stance she tried to be more patient and catch his movements towards her body.

He gradually increased the timing of his attacks, coming at her swiftly and retreating away from her retaliation. He also poked her or tugged her hair a little harder; wanting to see if her ability to track him improved as her battle aura activated or if she lost the ability all together.

She managed to knock some of his attacks away but still had not be able to make contact with his body. So if this were a real fight she might be able to somewhat defend herself but not fight off her attacker. She felt him coming at her again and used her forearm to send his hand off course but his other hand contacted her stomach and pushed her backward. She stumbled momentarily but he gave her no reprieve. He was relentless and it was pissing her off and she knew her battle aura was rising.

_There she goes. Now to see what she's made of._

She could barely hear him moving around her and she had no idea where he would hit her next. She felt his hand thump her shoulder blade and spin her around. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a blur of blue. _That can't be right, I am blind folded. _The blind fold hadn't moved and she had kept her eyes shut as well the whole time trying to focus on her hearing. She swung out wildly in her confusion.

Ranma ducked under her arm. _That swing had no control. It might be time to stop before she gets too angry._ He decided to give it a couple more tries before stopping her. He smacked her leg, smiling at her yelp, before spinning around to her other side.

Again Akane saw the blur of blue. This time she reached for it as it moved in front of her from her left. Swinging hard with her right fist she connected with Ranma's chest and was reward with a groan as he sailed away from her. She tore off the blind fold, staring in shock at Ranma sprawled on the floor.

"So how did you hit me? Were you swinging randomly?"

"Well, not really but I don't really know what I was swinging at." She thought he would think she was crazy if she said that she had tried to hit a blue blur.

"What do you mean?" If he was thinking right, she had glimpsed his aura while her battle aura was active. If not, it would be a lot harder to train her to fight against a highly skilled opponent.

"I'm not sure, I thought I saw something but that is silly because I was blind folded and my eyes were closed." She took a deep breath and described the blue blur. When she finished, Ranma was grinning broadly at her.

"That was my aura!" Ranma was practically bouncing he was so excited that she could see it. "You could really see it?"

"Sort of… It was just a little blur of movement."

He looped his arm around her waist, picking her up off the ground and spinning around with her. "God you are fun to train."

00000

Kasumi walked with Dr. Tofu, her arm linked in his, down the street waving and greeting people she knew. Most people kindly greeted her back and then sent an amused smile in the direction of their local doctor, who was currently walked very similarly to a robot. Everyone in town knew how the doctor reacted around Kasumi and only worried about it when they needed an appointment. If Kasumi stopped by the office with food, they rescheduled; it was simply safer.

Dr. Tofu was having trouble forming coherent thoughts. He rarely got to spend this much time with the beautiful woman currently on his arm. He tried a couple of times on the walk to say something, well anything, but he was having too much trouble forming words. She had always been a sweet, pretty girl and he wasn't exactly sure when he realized she had grown up into a sweet, graceful, lovely woman. He knew that since their mother died, Kasumi had taken on much of her mother's responsibilities and never appeared to mind. It was probably for the best that he hadn't worked up the nerve to ask her out on a date, with Nabiki and Akane still at home she would be unlikely to consider a serious relationship.

Kasumi was exceedingly patient with the man beside her; she wasn't worried about his strange behavior. She knew he was kind, intelligent and a hard worker. It was a lovely evening to be on a walk and she enjoyed the excuse to get out of the house. Her home was never boring but quiet time was something that rarely occurred anymore. She wouldn't wish for it to be different, she had just learned to appreciate the calm moments all that much more.

"Doctor, we are at your clinic. Thank you for the lovely flowers and for walking with me."

"Heh… heh… heh… Th… th…thank you f…f… for the c…c… cookies."

"You're welcome. You are always so kind to us. I enjoy cooking for you." Turning her sweet smile on him, she hoped he would be okay now that he was home. "May I ask a favor of you, doctor?"

She explained her concerns that Ranma and Akane letting their relationship move quickly and how she wanted to make sure they understood the consequences. Dr. Tofu blinked at her a few times and his expression grew more serious.

"Would you like me to talk to them?" He focused on her forehead because if he looked at her concerned, perfect eyes he would be lost in them.

"Oh no, I think I should. I had hoped maybe you would have some things here to help me know what to say without sounding like I am upset with them. They love each other so much; it is wonderful to see my little sister so happy."

"They no longer fight?"

"Hehe… not for as long anymore but they are still both a little immature."

"I think I have a few things that might help you." He turned and walked straight into his door, backed up, turned the handle and entered the building. _One of these days I won't act like an idiot._ By concentrating on gathering the items he wanted to give her he was able to behave a little more normally. He handed her a small box.

"Thank you very much doctor, I knew I could count on you."

He made the mistake of glancing at her eyes and then the even bigger mistake of looking at her lips. His mind fogged and all he could think about was getting away from her so she didn't see his silly behavior. Grabbing Betty he danced his way to the back of the clinic and up the stairs, leaving Kasumi standing a little perplexed at the entrance.

Kasumi giggled and walked out making sure the door locked behind her. She sighed quietly and walked home with a small smile on her face.

When she arrived home she took stock of where everyone was in the house. Her father and Uncle Genma were playing shogi, a quick peek upstairs told her Nabiki was in her room and combat sounds from the dojo let her know the two people she needed to talk to were sparring again. She went to the kitchen, made some tea for her father and his friend before heading to the dojo, box in hand.

Upon opening the dojo door both teens turned to face her. Ranma was spinning Akane around laughing and her sister was blind-folded.

"Put me down Ranma," As he placed her feet back on the ground she waved to her sister, "Hi Kasumi."

Kasumi couldn't help but smile at their antics. It was obvious they were having fun tonight and she was sorry that she had to disrupt it. "I would like to talk to you both. Will you bring over some cushions?"

"Um sure…" Ranma put his fiancé down gently and pulled the blind-fold off her eyes.

After they were all seated Kasumi open the little cardboard box in her hands and looked inside. She couldn't help but blush a little at the contents. Dr. Tofu had provided a few informational brochures and placed on top of them a small sampling of condoms. Closing her eyes, taking a deep breath and making a quick wish that her mother was here to handle this Kasumi finally began, "I would like to talk to you both about last evening."

Ranma wanted to disappear. _Was she seriously going to give them that talk right now?_ He knew his face was red and all he could do was look away.

Akane stared wide-eyed at her sister. _She is going to talk to both of us?_ She figured that Kasumi would find some time to speak with her and it would be embarrassing but not as much as it was right now. Her face was as bright as Ranma's and she too look away.

Kasumi knew they hated this and wished it could be easier, "I am not mad at you, nor am I disappointed in you. This is a challenging time in your relationship but neither of you have ever backed down from a challenge."

Ranma frowned and looked at her. She was sitting there smiling at them both as if she didn't have a care in the world. "Challenging?"

"Yes, challenging Ranma. You both are still new to the complexity that being in a relationship can bring. I think so far you are doing a wonderful job and helping each other since you came back from China. I think you both learned to value each other more." She saw Akane finally look her way, "Little sister, you are happier and even more confident than before Ranma came. The opportunities you have had to use your martial arts instead of just practicing them, I think, has been good for you."

Akane smiled at Kasumi and then Ranma, "Thank you Kasumi."

"You both know that the hardest things to do in life are the most important. Dr. Tofu gave me some information to pass along to you both. Please look at it and take it seriously. Some of it I am sure you already know but there might be some things that you don't." She stood up and crotched down in front of each of them in turn, hugged them and kissed them lightly on the forehead. "I love you both. Please be careful. Ranma, even if you and Akane do not marry, I will always think of you as family and you will always be welcome in my home."

They watched her leave, closing the door behind her, then stared at the box laid in front of them. Akane was the first to finally move, picking up the box and opening the lid.

Ranma saw her blush and knew the embarrassment wasn't over. Closing his eyes for a moment he tried to wish himself someplace else. "So… um… what's in there?"

Akane pulled out a brochure and looked it over. Its goal seemed to be dispelling myths about how to get pregnant. She handed it to Ranma and took out another. This one was aimed at teens and discussed reasons to delay intimacy. The third pamphlet displayed the rules and regulations regarding birth control. Last she pulled out the condoms and set them on the floor between them.

Ranma had no idea what to say. They hadn't really talked about this sort of thing but last night they had been rather caught up in each other, if Kasumi hadn't walked in he wasn't sure exactly where they would have stopped. He was pretty sure Akane wasn't ready to go all the way and he really didn't think he was either. He picked up the box and looked inside, there was nothing else to find. He wasn't sure what he thought he might find but he had hoped maybe the good doctor had included something to help him. _Wasn't he supposed to be a man among men? How was he supposed to know what that meant when it came to relationships? _The men in his life were not great examples. _Happosai? He groped every cute young girl he could get away with. Pop? He is afraid of his own wife. _He was a bit at a loss about the whole process, he knew the basics, they covered that in health class but movies implied that the man was supposed to make sure the woman enjoyed it.

They surprised themselves and both managed to read through the information the doctor had taken the time to send them. It would have been rude not to but neither could quite talk about it yet. Akane slowly placed everything back in the box.

"Um… I should probably keep this in my room."

"Yeah okay. Um Akane?"

"What?"

"I am really glad your sister is so nice. I thought she would be mad at us."

"Me too. Ranma?"

"What?"

"I'm not ready."

"Okay," He wasn't either but he didn't know what else to say.

They returned to the house and Akane went to her room while Ranma headed for the bath. She hid the box under her bed and waited for her turn in the bath. When Ranma finally knocked on the door he told her he was heading to bed.

"All the training today has finally caught up with me." He gave her a quick goodnight kiss and left for the spare bedroom.

Akane sat in the bath thinking about everything. Ranma was so attracted to her that it had become a weakness while he fought, Kasumi was worried they were going to have sex and Ranma had told her she was sexy. Maybe it was time for them to chill out and focus on training for a few days.

AN: No big notes to you today. Just have a safe and happy holiday season. R&R as you like. I like reading them :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Ranma 1/2

**AN: **Happy Holidays readers :) I hope you have a safe and joyous occasion no matter what you believe, celebrate or don't celebrate. The winter solstice is behind us so that means for those of us in the northern hemisphere the days are officially getting longer again. I won't be updating again until after Christmas. Enjoy and as always R&R.

Chapter 9 – Nabiki's offer

Both Ranma and Akane continued their blind fighting training after school the next couple of days. Ranma still only used their fathers to help him train and locked her out of the dojo while he worked. He knew it irritated her but he couldn't do the training he needed to do while she was in there, especially after their talk with Kasumi. The two men had tried all kinds of things to distract him both while blind folded and not. His father took particular pleasure in coming up with some very perverted taunts. He felt a little better about himself when the sight of her bras and underwear didn't faze him. He had been a little concerned that he would be like Happosai but the undergarments were easy to ignore. The knowledge that if Akane found out they had been stolen from her drawer to use for training she would beat them all senseless was enough to make sure he locked her out of the dojo each day.

"Put her underwear back before we all get in really big trouble. Besides, they don't distract me at all." Ranma was growing irritated with the two older men. The things they were coming up with for training were stupid. "This isn't working right."

A loud banging on the door had them all scrambling to hide the bras and panties. Ranma opened the door a small fraction and peeked out at Akane. "What do you want?"

"Dinner is ready. I considered letting it go cold before I told you but Kasumi wouldn't let me."

_Oh boy. _"Um… okay… thanks." Ranma grabbed the bag from his father, masked his aura and took off for Akane's room.

Akane was walking back to the house when she thought she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Concentrating hard on the direction of the movement, she saw a slight shift again but this time below her window. Running back inside, she mounted the stairs two at a time and threw her door open. "Ranma I know you are in here."

When he didn't answer she closed her eyes as her battle aura flared. _ I see it. _The blue hue was trying to climb out the window. Grabbing her mallet she sent him flying into the koi pond. _Ha, now why was he sneaking in here?_ She then noticed one of her drawers slightly open. Sliding it the rest of the way open it revealed her bras and panties and they were not neatly folded how she usually kept them. She felt her aura flare again and she struggled to not lose her temper. She didn't really want to get mad at him so she repeated to herself over and over again that he was training, that she was a distraction and he needed to improve. _Did he have to use my bras though? _Something had to be done.

She calmly descended the stairs and sat at the table beside Ranma. The red head scooted away from her and gave her a guilty look. Akane tried to smile pleasantly at her but failed miserably. She had gotten increasingly irritable over the last couple of days. Being locked out of the dojo was frustrating but things between her and Ranma had also become awkward since their talk with Kasumi. It was almost like they were back to the way things were before they admitted their feelings. Certain things continued like he held her hand when they were out together and he still kissed her goodnight every night, but the playfulness and the closeness that she had gotten used to were gone.

It wasn't entirely his fault. She found herself starting to take action and then stopping, doubting herself, and wondering if he would take it the wrong way. She knew Kasumi meant well and was worried about them. She could also logically reason that her sister was right to bring up sex and the responsibilities that came with it, but it hurt to have things be strained between them.

Glancing at the girl beside her who refused to meet her eyes, "Ranma, can we train after dinner?"

"Um… yeah… sure." _What is going on with her? _Things had been weird between them and only seemed to be getting weirder. She constantly wondered what Akane had meant when she said she wasn't ready. Was she uncomfortable with some of the things they had already done? Or was she just talking about sex? Whenever the urge to kiss her, really kiss her, was there she backed off, afraid of doing something she wasn't ready to do.

When Akane finished she returned to her room to change, this time wearing her gi as normal. After jumping out her window she looked back to the dinner table. Ranma and her father were arguing over extra helpings but as she turned to walk away Genma sailed past her and landed in the pond. The thing she found most amazing about her life today was that her panties being stolen for training and a wet panda streaking past her constituted normal. She waited in the dojo with the blind fold in her hand.

Ranma had had it with her father's antics, grabbing her bowl of rice back she set it down on table before reaching for Genma's gi and pitching him over her head into the pond. She saw Akane jump down from her window and head for the dojo. _Time to apologize._ She finished her food, thanked Kasumi for the meal and walked to the dojo.

Sliding the door open she was surprised to see Akane sitting in the middle of the floor, usually she liked to stretch and warm up if she had to wait. "You okay?"

"Yeah," She stood up and handed the blind fold to Ranma. A question she really wanted to ask stalled on her lips. She wanted to know if they were going to be okay but how did she ask that without sounding like she was blaming it all on her fiancé?

Ranma looked back at her with downturned lips, "Why are you handing me the blind fold?"

"Can I watch you use your chi to track me? Maybe I can do better if I watch you again." Again she tried to smile at him.

"Yeah… okay… sure." She tied it over her eyes tightly, "Um… Akane I am sorry I borrow your …um … things."

She groaned, "Did you really have to take mine? You have a couple sets."

"I am not Happosai," she heard the venom in her voice and tried to calm down, "besides it was Pop's idea not mine."

"Is your training working?"

"Don't really know. I don't lose my focus at the mention or sight of your underwear if that is what you are asking."

"How much longer are you going to steal my things? That is really annoying by the way." Even though Ranma couldn't see her, she snarled anyway.

"I am done with that, it was stupid anyway. I really am sorry."

"Good," She started moving around him and of course the redhead tracked her easily. She wasn't good at masking her aura, but she tried regardless.

Ranma could tell she wanted to try and hide from her, Akane feelings were always right on her face let alone her aura. She would need a lot more practice to develop a decent soul of ice and even more to completely mask her aura. Still tracking the girl's movement she mentally added it to the growing list of techniques to teach her soon.

Akane focused on her fiancé's aura, "Bring it up stronger."

Ranma complied and let the energy of her chi flow over her skin brighter. "What are you looking for?"

"I'm not sure yet." She moved around her in a circle. Every time she moved the aura seemed to shift towards her and Ranma's movement wasn't far behind. The aura almost looked like it was leading the way to the opponent. Akane knew that a great deal of Ranma's chi came from confidence and his enormous ego. "So you follow where your chi tells you to go?"

"What do you mean? I can see your aura and I attack it."

"Um… I'm not sure. I thought I saw something." With a sigh, she calmly walked over and removed the blind fold, "Guess I should focus on trying to see your aura better."

Ranma set their timer while she waited for her to secure the blind fold before moving silently around her. It didn't take long for Akane to be able to track her fairly well and soon was able to return to lightly attacking her. When she nearly clocked her in the face she was forced to block Akane's attack. The two girls continued to dance around each other lightly sparring until the timer buzzed.

"Akane you are doing really well. I'll mask my aura sometime in the next day or two to increase the challenge. Okay?"

"Whatever"

"You're still mad at me." Ranma was getting frustrated with her lack of fire. She was always so animated when they trained.

"I'm not really mad; I know it is important that you train. I just hate being left out. I also hate how things have been off between us lately." She sighed and rested her head against Ranma's shoulder, "I miss us."

Those last words were an echo of what the redhead's heart had been screaming the past few days. She put her arms around Akane's shoulders and felt her fiance's hands reach around to hug at her own waist. They stood like that for several minutes with Ranma occasionally nuzzling her fiancé's soft dark hair with her cheek. The scent from her strawberry shampoo still lingered in her hair but only very lightly.

Akane lifted her head away from Ranma's shoulder. "I'm…" She didn't get to finish as soft lips were suddenly pressed against hers. She only allowed herself a brief moment of shock before sinking into the kiss.

Ranma only deepened the kiss slightly, instead enjoying lightly nipping at her mouth and savoring her unique flavor. This was a small part of what had been missing the last few days. Reluctantly she pulled back from Akane, "I've missed us too."

Akane smiled and hugged her tightly, laying her head back down and pressing her nose against Ranma's neck. "That is the first time you have ever kissed me like this."

Ranma crinkled her eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean? I have kissed you lots of times."

"Not when you are a girl. You always let me kiss you but you never start it." She brought her lips to Ranma's neck and lightly kissed the skin above her shirt collar.

She could feel a blush forming. _Akane is right. _She was so relieved to be holding her and to know that they both hated the distance that had developed between them that she forgot she had been bunted into the pond earlier. _That wasn't as weird as I used to think it would be. _Leaning her head against Akane's she smiled and played with the ends of her dark hair. "You are the one who sent me to go swimming with your fish."

Akane giggled, "You deserved it; you stole my underwear."

"I supposed you are right." She tugged on Akane's hair to get her to look up and gave her a quick peck on the lips. She still blushed a little but it was worth it.

00000

The lone figure was sitting high in a tree banging their head against the trunk. The trail had led them to the shrine but there was nothing useful there. It had not been full of recovered artifacts but rather there were pictures of the artifacts with no information about where they were being stored. The shrine monk had bored them to tears with the long history of the shrine and the efforts to save it and the ongoing work to recover more pieces from the areas touched by lava. _How much soot and ash can one man talk about? _He had followed them around the whole time talking and talking and talking. They had to sneak into a public restroom for cold water in order to escape. Looking in the mirror the image staring back enraged the figure. Everything was Ranma and Akane's fault; their life wouldn't be ruined now if it weren't for those two. Getting out of here would be easier now they looked different, but they could still attract unwanted attention.

As the figure was musing how to best to proceed, a couple of people enter the same restroom facility in unusual outfits. They had fake ears on their heads and were wearing wigs. Following them out, where they met up with more friends also dressed in costumes, the lone figure slipped into the group. Along with the group of half-demon cosplayers, who were apparently on some sort of scavenger hunt, they made their getaway.

00000

While Akane was bathing, Ranma sat in his room and pulled out a small pouch from under the small dresser he shared with his father. He had made sure Pop was busy playing shogi as usual with Mr. Tendo before sneaking upstairs. He dumped the small collection of coins and bills into his hand and counted what he had, hoping against all odds that there was more there somehow.

_1250 yen. Damn! _Kasumi had given him a few ideas; perfume, scented bath oil, flowers or a new book. They were all good ideas and they were all things he could probably afford. _Guess I will go shopping after school tomorrow._ He shuddered. The idea of shopping without knowing exactly what he was going to buy gave him goose bumps.

Nabiki slid the door open and watched with satisfaction as Ranma jumped and stumbled away, hiding something behind his back. "Decide what to get Akane for her birthday yet?"

"Sort of"

"I have a proposal for you."

"Not interested"

"Even if it would mean more than enough money to get her a nice gift AND take her out someplace fancy?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Here," she handed him a flyer. "Read this over. The prize money would be really helpful to your cause."

The flyer was advertising a tournament, something called mixed martial arts. Nabiki was right; the prize money would be enough to buy the necklace. "What's the catch?"

"You keep the prize money but you listen to me and win each round the way I tell you to."

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"Simple, I can make far more than 10,000 yen taking bets on the fights. But if you win the fights too easily nobody will bet against you."

"Of course no one would bet against me. I don't lose."

"Stupid, I am not asking you to lose. Just don't show off, I know that is hard for you not to do, and draw out a few fights. Make it look like you had to work hard to win."

"This is great!"

"Akane will definitely forgive you when you give her something really nice."

"Forgive me?"

She stepped over to him and walked her fingers down the page until they came to rest on the date of the tournament, "This Saturday."

"That's the day I am supposed to spend with Akane." He also noticed below the date was the location of the tournament. It was on the other side of Tokyo from Nerima and he hadn't been far away from Akane since Jusenkyo.

She pulled the flyer out of his hands, "I guess you can't go then."

"I have a little money; I will just find her something with what I have." The thought of the prize money had been exciting but disappointing Akane and being involved with one of Nabiki's schemes didn't sit right with him.

"Have it your way." She turned and walked out of the room. Stopping at the edge of the doorway she waited until she heard Ranma moving around his room again. Peeking around the corner, she smirked and calmly returned to her room.

Ranma hid the pouch back under the dresser and stretched out on his futon, waiting to hear Akane return to her room. As soon as he heard the distinctive pattern of her foot falls he jumped up and met her in front of her door. She was poking at the arm of her pajamas and frowning.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"My pajamas have a hole in them. I will have to ask Kasumi to mend them." Akane walked into her room and Ranma followed behind her and closed the door. When she turned to say something to him, he looked nervous so instead she waited until he spoke first.

"Um Akane… I'm glad we are back to normal." He stood in front of her with his fingers pressed together, "We are back to normal right?"

"Yeah," she took his hands in hers and put them around her waist. Stretching her arms up to link her hands behind his head and pulling him to her, she kissed him soundly. When he smiled at her, she glared back. "I still don't like being left out of your training."

He gave her a half smile and pecked her on the lips, "Deal with it."

00000

Nabiki heard Akane's door close and peeked out of her room. The hallway was empty so she carefully crept to the guest room, stole inside and tugged on the small string sticking out from under the dresser. She had a good idea that was Ranma's hiding spot for treats and money. She pulled on the string until a small part of a pouch was just barely visible, smiling to herself she returned to her room.

00000

The panda returned to his room after several games of shogi with his friend Soun and noticed that for the first time in a few days Ranma wasn't already asleep in the room. _Must have made up with Akane. _He and Soun had been very worried lately about Ranma and Akane's behavior. It was obvious to the entire house that something was wrong, neither were smiling or laughing, especially with each other. He wasn't sure what his fool son had done wrong to cause this problem but he was glad it seemed to be over. If only the two would get married and join the schools.

It perplexed Genma that Ranma's training wasn't going better. They had tried almost everything; this would obviously require some extreme measures to eliminate the boy's weakness. While he was adjusting his blanket he noticed something sticking out from under the dresser. _Hmmm… I wonder what that is. Does the boy think he can hide something from me?_ A sharp tug on the exposed string revealed a pouch and a quick shake told him exactly what was in it. _Where is Ranma getting money?_ He tucked the pouch into his own drawer and went to sleep, dreaming of the sake he would share with his friend tomorrow evening.

Ranma returned to his futon to find his father thankfully already asleep and snoring. Not that the snoring would make it easy to get to sleep but at least he didn't have to deal with his father's comments about marriage, weaknesses or anything else. He stretched out with his arms behind his head and felt content finally and was happy the awkwardness was finally gone between Akane and him.

They had talked and laughed for about an hour in her room before she announced she was sleepy. She had chased him around the room with her mallet when he mentioned that the pigs on her pajamas looked like P-chan. He had tackled her to the ground and stolen the mallet to get her to stop and wanted to kiss her senseless to distract her but apparently they were a little too loud in their enthusiasm and Nabiki had knocked on the wall, yelling something about getting a room.

They were both properly mortified and settled down to quietly talk for a little longer before Ranma returned to the guest bedroom.

Akane was also thinking in her own room. She had been surprised to discover that Ranma was worried he had pressured her into doing something she didn't want to do. She had spent a year thinking Ranma only thought about himself, he was certainly egotistical but he also worried about the people he cared for. When she really thought hard about it, that was what she had slowly fallen in love with, he had always been there for her when it mattered most. She couldn't wait to spend the day alone with him this Saturday.


	10. Chapter 10

**The usual disclaimer - **I don't own Ranma 1/2.

**AN:** I love the reviews with guesses about "The loan figure", especially when I get to read some of the reasoning behind your guesses. To keep it fun I will not be confirming or denying any guess :) But keep them coming! I have mostly had a scene with the loan figure every 2 or 3 chapters but eventually it will be every chapter as the main arc become dominant in my story. More clues are certainly coming, there will be another in chapter 11.

Chapter 10 – A new trainer

Kasumi caught Ranma as he was running towards the door trying to catch up with Akane who was waiting for him by the gate. "Ranma, I need a large bag of rice. Can you pick it up on your way home from school?"

"Yeah sure, no problem." He stuffed the money in his pocket, stepped into his shoes and bolted out the door.

"We are going to be late if you don't hurry up."

"I know, I know. Just run tomboy." He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the street.

They barely made it to the school grounds in time and still had to race to make it to their first class. Akane didn't get much sleep the night before, she had spent time awake thinking about the talk Ranma and she had had the previous night. They had agreed yet again that they didn't want to get married until after High School and while they hadn't really talked explicitly about sex, Ranma understood better what she meant when she said that she wasn't ready. She had hoped he would feel the same way but he wouldn't say one way or the other. _I supposed no guy his age would admit he didn't want to have sex. His friends certainly wouldn't. _

Yuka cornered Ranma after lunch when Akane parted ways with him to head to her class. "Have you gotten her a gift yet?"

"Um… no. I am going shopping tonight." He cringed at the thought and was a little afraid Yuka might insist on going with him.

"Good, remember it has to be really romantic. You are more than just her boyfriend."

"She just wants to spend the day together." He was really getting sick of being told he had to be romantic. "I know what I am getting her."

"What is it?"

"Why should I tell you before I give it to her?"

"So I can tell you if it is good enough." Yuka was pointing her finger right in his face. God help her, she was not going to let Ranma screw up her best friend's birthday this year.

"No," He wasn't giving in. Akane would definitely get mad if she thought everyone knew before her or worse, if she decided he had been told what to buy she would think he didn't know what to get her. He didn't really know but he didn't want either Yuka or Akane to know that. "She has liked other gifts I have gotten her, I will be fine."

"It had better be good." She stormed off to her class at the end of the hallway, leaving Ranma holding his head.

He made his way to class wondering what the hell he was going to do. He thought a book sounded boring. Perfume was okay but he like the way she smelled without it and just because he liked a scent didn't mean she would. _Wouldn't scented bath oil imply he was thinking about her bathing? Nabiki would give them a hard time about that. _Flowers were obvious and he knew he would pick up some of those and that she would like them.

"Mr. Saotome, what era saw the decline of the samurai?"

"Um…" Ranma was saved from answering as the fire alarm sounded. _Thank you Akane._

As the class stood to file out of the room, Hiroshi caught up to his friend and clapped him on the shoulder. "Akane must be improving. It has been a few weeks since she set off the fire alarm."

"Yeah, she made cookies a while ago; if you soaked them in enough milk they were actually edible." They exited the building and waited patiently for the all clear to return. Ranma kept a look out for Akane, wondering what had happened this time.

Akane emerged from the building frowning, wishing she could hide from the rest of the students. She had followed the recipe exactly; it was like the kitchen appliances were trying to kill her. _Of course Ranma is looking right at me. He knows I set it off again._ As she walked over to Ranma and Hiroshi a group of first years clapped and cheered, "Thanks Akane! We were taking a math test." She growled at them until they shrank away from her.

Ranma grinned at her, "Hey be nice, your cooking is helping people." He put his arm around her and noticed a small piece of something yellow in her hair. "So what happened?"

"I don't know."

He noticed her start to tear up and pulled her tighter again his side. "Well what kind of fire was it?"

"A grease fire," her shoulders slumped further.

"I thought they didn't let you use the fryer anymore after the last fire?"

"But the recipe said I had to, so since I couldn't use the deep fryer I put the oil in a pan instead and put it on the stove. It was really messy but the recipe clearly said I had to fry them first before adding them to the rest of the ingredients." She hated crying but she was so frustrated and she knew everyone thought she had messed up because she liked to experiment and put things in that were not part of the recipe. She had really wanted to surprise Ranma with something edible.

"Um… what did you fry?"

"The eggs."

"WHAT?"

"YES. I PROMISE IT SAID I NEEDED TWO FRIED EGGS."

"NOT DEEP FRIED! DID YOU AT LEAST CRACK THEM FIRST?"

"WHY WOULD I DO THAT?"

Ranma closed his eyes, smiled softly and shook his head at her. "They exploded didn't they?"

"Yes," She took a deep breath to calm down. Their yelling had attracted attention and most of the other students were looking at her like she was crazy. "Why would the recipe say to fry them if you weren't supposed to? Everyone else was getting out pans and butter but I thought it was better to fry with oil."

He turned her to face him and brushed some stray hair away from her face, "You were supposed to heat a very small amount of butter or oil in a skillet and crack an egg into it. Not throw it in a bunch of hot oil with the shell still on." He pulled her against him and gave her a quick hug.

"If that was what it wanted then it should have said so." The students were being told they could return to class. She didn't want to be around anyone anymore.

Akane turned away from him and as she did he gently reached out and pulled a piece of egg out of her hair. He smiled down at it before dropping it on the ground and returning to his class with Hiroshi. Fortunately the rest of the school day passed without incident.

On their way home Ranma could tell she was still moping over her latest cooking disaster. He jumped down from the fence, "If it is bothering you so much, why don't you ask Kasumi to teach you how to fry an egg?"

Akane stopped and took a deep breath, "You're right. I can't let this get me down. I am going to be able to make a meal for you one of these days."

Ranma forced himself to smile, "Yeah, that's great."

"You don't look like you really think so."

"Trust me, I want you to get better at cooking. I'm just not sure I want to taste all your attempts."

"Fine, I'll just find someone who will want to."

He noticed another small chunk of egg and pulled it out of her hair. Holding it out to her, "Good luck finding someone as hard to kill as me."

They picked up the rice for Kasumi and headed home. After dumping his school things in the guest room he went to find their fathers. Hopefully they had some better ideas for today's training. Akane had already gone to convince Kasumi to help her; he would find her later to work on their training. _I should be able to sneak out while she is in the bath to get her a gift._

He found the two men in their usual spot, arguing over who was cheating more. Ranma rolled his eyes, "You both cheat all the time. Come on, let's go to the dojo and see what you have come up with for today."

In the kitchen Akane was having trouble focusing on her task. She had heated the pan with a small pad of butter in it like Kasumi said but now it was smoking and her sister lifted it off the burner calmly and set it on a cool one while Akane was busy cleaning up the egg she had dropped on the floor.

"It will help you if you have all your ingredients setting beside the stove and easy to reach." She fanned away the smoke and opened the window and door. She had hoped her sister would notice the smoke and gave her time to fix it herself but once she dropped the egg and started fretting about that her attention was not on the stove at all. "Also let's reduce heat a little bit so you have more time before your butter burns," turning off the burner she waited until Akane was ready to start again.

Akane finished cleaning up the egg and washed her pan. Setting it on the stove again, her shoulders slumped as she stared at it. "I'm sorry Kasumi, I am not focusing well enough."

"What is on your mind today?"

"I hate this training Ranma is doing. He says he has to but I thought that the next time he needed to train himself that I would be involved. But I am not only not needed but locked out."

"Daddy says that Ranma gets too easily distracted by you and needs to learn better focus. I think that is very romantic." She smiled down at her sister and placed her hand on her shoulder, "You should take it as a compliment."

"Maybe but I don't like the idea of things they are doing to train him. They stole some of my underwear yesterday and that didn't work so that mean they will come up with more perverted things to do with the idea that it is training him." She was snarling as she finished the statement, "Who knows what they have in store for him today."

"Uncle Genma says that it is important for Ranma to be a great martial artist."

"He also thought dumping a small boy in a pit of hungry cats was a good idea and taking him to train at Jusenkyo." Akane rolled her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting it release slowly. She had to calm down.

Kasumi giggled, "I don't think there is anything too dangerous they could do in the dojo."

"You're right," She picked up the pan again and turned the heat back on. "What setting should I use?"

"Get your next egg first and set it in a little bowl beside the stove." Kasumi was careful not to give Akane too many directions at once, as she tended to missed steps.

Akane got her egg and a small bowl from the cabinet. Setting it down carefully, she looked to her sister and waited. Kasumi instructed her to add butter to the pan and turn the heat to medium. _So far so good._ After the butter melted she was told to crack the egg on the side of the pan and put the insides in the pan. She cracked it a little too forcefully and some ended up outside the pan and a couple large chunks of shell landed in the pan with the rest of the egg. She watched as her sister calmly reached into the pan and using her nails carefully and quickly picked out the two pieces of shell.

"Now make sure the yolk breaks so that it will cook evenly." She placed the spatula in Akane's hand and guided it to the pan like she might a small child, tapping the yolk gently with the edge. "Now you need to be patient and wait for it to cook." She saw Akane started to reach over and turn up the heat but she stopped her by placing her hand back over her sister's and pulling it gently away. "You will burn it if the heat is too high. You don't want it to cook fast. Cooking is easier when you take it slow and steady like that kata Ranma and you did in the yard the other day."

Akane remembered that day; she had sparred with Ranma outside for a change of pace. She had relentlessly tried to knock him into the pond which meant he had found back harder because he really didn't want to land in it. "Okay, how do I tell when it is done?"

Kasumi explained why the clear albumin in the egg turned white when it was heated reminding Akane that her sister had done well in school and probably could have gone to college if she had wanted to. When she told her to flip the egg over Akane had some trouble getting the spatula under the egg and it folded when she flipped it. Kasumi had to try to fix it but it stay partially folded.

"The appearance will not change the taste. Don't worry about the little fold." Kasumi smile at her little sister, so pleased that she had more patience this year than she did last year. "Go ahead and slide it onto a plate."

Akane slide the egg out of the pan, it sailed past the plate and onto the counter. "Oh no"

"My counters are very clean, scoop it up and no one will know."

Akane stared wide-eyed at her sister, "Have you ever had to scoop something off the counter?"

"Of course silly, I get in a hurry too."

Akane grinned broadly at the comment and lifted the egg carefully with the spatula successfully getting it on the plate. "I hope they are almost done, I want to show Ranma that this one didn't end up in my hair."

"Oh my," Kasumi bit back her laughter until Akane was out of the room then she leaned heavily against the counted as she shook and held her sides until tears were leaking out the corners of her eyes. _Only my little sister could get egg in her hair._

Nabiki walked into the kitchen to see her older sister wiping tears away from her eyes. At first she thought she had been crying but soon saw the glint in her eyes and a delighted smile on her face. Although her sister could annoyingly find something to smile about in any situation, even if she was alone in the desert with no water she could be pleased about the sunny day, this smile looked like she was enjoying herself immensely. "What's up with you?"

"I just helped Akane fry an egg and she said something about not ending up with egg in her hair. It was a funny picture to imagine. She tries so hard."

Nabiki grinned at Kasumi, "I had a good day because of her too." She had made a tidy profit at school today. "I need to recalculate odds tonight on when she will set off the fire alarm again at school."

Kasumi wanted to be irritated with her sister but she was too full of mirth and in this case Nabiki's bet taking didn't really hurt anyone. She opened her mouth to say something but ended up shaking with laughter again instead.

Nabiki was ready to be told that taking bets on her sister's unfortunate cooking was wrong but was shocked when Kasumi laughed hard with her hand over her mouth. The sound was infectious and soon both girls were holding on the counter to stay standing.

"The other students..." Nabiki was gasping for air, "…were all cheering." A fit of giggles took her over again. She managed to explain what she had overheard between Ranma and Akane about frying the eggs for the recipe. "She honestly thought she had to deep fry it… with the shell still on."

"Now it makes sense why she wanted me to teach her how to make one."

"Did she manage it?" Nabiki raised her eyebrows in question.

"It wasn't pretty but it will be edible." Kasumi handed her sister a tissue and they both wiped their eyes and stood there for a moment shaking their heads in amazement.

00000

As Akane approached the dojo she could hear the voices of Uncle Genma and her father. She was appalled when she heard Uncle Genma say something about imaging her naked writhing beneath him. _How the hell could he talk about her like that? How could her own father approve of that as some sort of training? _The next thing she heard stopped her in her tracks.

It was her father's voice, "Look at this picture Ranma, look at her naked body."

_WHY DID THEY HAVE A PICTURE OF HER NAKED? _ Sure Ranma had accidentally seen her naked a couple of times before but to ask him to look at her on purpose for training was uncalled for. It was then she heard Ranma's voice.

"I am not going to look at that. Stop trying to show me."

She grabbed the door handle and flung it open breaking the lock. She saw her father hide something, probably the picture, behind his back and the two Saotome men stared at her in fear. Her battle aura was running hot all over her skin, she felt like she could almost literally explode. Turning to their fathers she bellowed, "GET OUT!"

Her father took off running and Genma dropped to his hands and knees to begin begging forgiveness. She handed the plate she had in her hand, amazingly still intact, to Ranma and approached Genma. "This is over. Using naked pictures of me is the last straw, Ranma will have to find another way to train but it will not be kept secret from me."

Ranma knew he should stop her and rescue Pop but it was very entertaining to watch her in action. He glanced down at the plate in his hands and saw a half-way decent fried egg on it. He picked it up and tried a small bite, discovering it tasted fine he decided that it would be a fine snack while he enjoyed the show.

"We didn't use naked pictures of you. We …"

"Don't lie to me, I heard you telling him to look at the picture."

"…but…"

"I SAID ENOUGH!" She picked him up and sent him flying through the roof. Rounding on Ranma, she saw the now empty plate and he was licking his fingers. "I'm still deciding if I should be mad at you too."

He smiled at her and walked across the room towards her, stopping when he was just out of arms reach. "The egg turned out good."

"Flattering me will not help." She was lying and he would likely know it. She could already feel her battle aura receding.

"I should probably also tell you that they didn't have a naked picture of you." He saw her eyes narrow as she tried to figure out if he was lying to her or not. "It was one of those magazines with naked pictures of women in them. Apparently they decided while I was at school that it would be the best way to train me today. I didn't look."

Her mouth dropped open, "They were training you with perverted pictures? Did it work to break your Soul of Ice?"

"Not really, I mean yes it did at first but only because it made me mad." He had eventually just kept his gazed focused elsewhere and mostly ignored the two men.

"So you still need to find a way to train?"

"I'll find a way to train without them. They are no help."

Akane took the plate from him and gently set it outside, closed the door and grinned to herself evilly while her back was to Ranma. "Maybe I can help you. Close your eyes and pull on your Soul of Ice."

_What is she up to? _He complied with her request, mostly because he was afraid not to after what she had done to his father.

She walked around him, reached out to touch his arm and felt it was cold. Even the air around him was cold, which meant he really was using the technique. She started by softening her touch and dragging her fingers up his arm. She saw him take in a slow controlled breath but his skin remained cool. Next she moved her hands across his back and down his other arm, feeling his still cold skin. "So? Easy to ignore?"

He opened one eye and looked down at her, "Mostly, I can imagine that it is something like the doctor or someone checking me for injuries. You know something not uncomfortable or embarrassing."

"Okay then, close your eyes again." She shifted around to the front of him and placed both of her hands on his chest and slid them up to his neck and continued moving up until her hands were behind his ears. His skin warmed at little as she felt him relax into her touch. "Couldn't ignore that as well as before." she pointed out with a cocky grin on her face.

He concentrated on his technique and felt himself cool down again. The movement of her hands reminded him of some of the moments they shared right before they kissed goodnight. Once he had his emotions under control he looked down at her again, "Bring it on."

She did the same thing again but he held on to his control and smirked at her. _Hmmm… Thinks he has this all figured out does he? _She didn't comment when he kept his eyes open for now. She pressed up against his cool skin and nuzzles into his chest. She felt his arms tighten and press into his sides like he was forcing them to stay in place. Grinning she brought her hands down to play with a closure on his shirt. "I love it when your arms wrap around me and you hug me tight against you." She heard him growl and felt his skin beneath her warm.

He had to fight hard for control, the memories that her words forced to the front of his mind had him wanting to give up on the training and hold her against him. He loved the way she felt in his arms. Pushing the thoughts out of his mind again he tried to recapture his soul of ice. He almost had it reined in when she spoke again.

"Hmmm… and it is so exciting when your hands squeeze my hips and you act all possessive." She continued to describe the ways she liked to be touched by him. Each time waiting until she felt his skin start to cool before attacking him again with her words.

He growled at her, cursed at her and even tried to push her away from him but she was relentless. "I need a break."

"Fine, five minutes," She walked over and set their timer then walked to the little shrine and sat in front of it. The shrine was to her mother; she really hoped her spirit wasn't watching or worse listening right now.

Ranma sat cross-legged and meditated trying to focus his thoughts how he needed to in order to keep his soul of ice intact. The secret was to pretend he was someone else, someone who didn't care about the insults, embarrassments or odd things happening around him. When he did that he felt like he was watching it happen to a stranger and not him. He wasn't sure why he couldn't do that this time, he tried over and over again but he had yet to find that detachment he could always count on. The buzzer rang, groaning he stood and waited for what Akane had in store next.

Akane stood, mentally apologized to her mother for what she was about to do and stood facing away from Ranma. She knew he already had his pulled upon his Soul of Ice and was ready, stretching her arms high in the air she leaned first to the right, and then shifted to the left. "It is a little warm out today." Her skirt reached her knees; the skirt that distracted him the other day was much shorter. She calmly, still not looking at him, rolled the waist band of her skirt until it only reached half-way down her thighs.

Ranma frowned as she played with the waist band of her skirt, wondering what she was doing. It took him a moment to realize he could see more of her legs now. She was shortening the damn thing. His favorite skirt of hers was short enough that he could watched her powerful leg muscles move and as an added bonus he even occasionally got a quick peek at her panties. She would call him perverted if she knew and she would probably be right but whenever she kicked him or spun around too fast he couldn't help but notice them. She was across the room from him and he was losing it already, this was bad.

Akane smiled to herself as she heard a soft groan come from Ranma. Remembering what he had said a few days earlier about the ways she could help, she devised a couple new ways to tease him. He had mentioned her muscles; she knew he liked to watch her practice she just never quite understood why until then. She began a simple slow kata routine that would strain her arm and leg muscles. Half-way through the routine she glanced towards him and found him standing in the middle of the room with his hands over his eyes. Laughing she walked over and pulled his hands away, "Cheater."

"You're killing me."

"Well then Mr. Greatest Martial Artist of His Generation, you better find a way to counter it or your father will be right. You will have another weakness."

"Hmmph… like I would let myself have a weakness." He crossed his arms over his chest and refused to look at her.

"Meow…" She poked him in the shoulder and continued to mimic cat sounds at him.

"Fine… one… you can shut up now."

She checked the temperature of his skin and smiled when it was still cool. _He really is good at ignoring the embarrassing things now._ She took a deep breath and circled to face him, tugging on his pigtail she pulled him down until they were nose to nose. Keeping her touch feather light she kissed his cheeks, brow, nose and finally lips. Then letting go of his pigtail she moved around to his side, since he was wearing his sleeveless red shirt he often favored in warm weather, she placed small kisses on each of his arms.

Her actions had ranged from sexy to powerful to sweet and he was not able to counter any of them. He sat back on the ground breathing heavily and groaned into his hands. _I am going to get her back for this later._ His Soul of Ice was completely lost as thoughts of everything he would like to do to her later ran through his mind. _LATER!_ He felt like he was getting close to figuring something out. Akane walked up behind him and started to put her arms around his neck. He stopped her, pulling her arms away and encouraged her to sit in front of him. "I need a minute. Don't touch me right now."

Detachment was how he dealt with anger and embarrassment but he had to find something else for his attraction to Akane. _I can't ignore it, that isn't working._ _Why can't I detach? _He thought for a while before it started to click. He didn't want to detach. He couldn't act like an outsider watching a stranger because Akane was his and no one, not even a stranger version of himself could do those things with her. He wanted to feel her touch, he wanted to think about her; the problem was that he didn't want to avoid the thoughts. He needed to be able to push the thoughts aside for a short time… _until later._

Akane was quietly watching his face; emotions were playing across it like a slideshow. She saw a calm confidence settle in and knew he was figuring something out. It was the same look he got every time he figured out how to counter a new move from an opponent. Smiling, she patiently waited for him to be ready. He would want her to repeat nearly everything she did to test himself. She still had one trick up her sleeve to push him further; she wondered what would happen when she used it.

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**Thank you for continuing to read my story. R&R as you like.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer - **It is now 2015 and I still do not own Ranma 1/2

**AN:** This update is a bit later than I wanted it to be... but I was busy busy :) I hope you had a safe and happy new year.

Chapter 11 - Later

Ranma wasn't sure how long he had already meditated but things were starting to feel right. He was imagining a box in his mind and had labeled it 'Later'. He methodically went through all the little things about Akane that had interrupted his Soul of Ice and filed them away in that box. By allowing the thoughts to exist and not ignoring them, he would be fighting less against his heart. As one by one each thought was filed away, he felt calmer and more in control. It was time to test his idea.

Akane heard him finally move and watched him stand up, he looked different. He was colder, not in a mean way but he seemed more in control. She moved to him, using many of the same tricks as before, and tried to break his control. He would grin slyly at her and occasionally surprise her by muttering 'later'. It was amazing to her how he could counter something so quickly. They had only been at it an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Nothing she did fazed him now and his face took on a cocky expression. _Time to really see if I can crack the ice._

She pulled him forward by his pigtail again. Repeating the feathery light kisses from before, she heard him mutter a very quiet 'definitely later' but wasn't sure what he meant. His cheeks and lips were cold still and it was an unusual sensation to feel against her warm lips. She gently kissed and used her teeth on his earlobe, feeling him warm for a moment before cooling again under her touch. Smiling she whispered into his ear. She felt his skin heat right before she was propelled backwards landing hard on her bottom. She rubbed her sore backside and looked across the dojo to see what had happened to Ranma.

He was completely unprepared for the words she whispered in his ear. One word, one three letter word, and his Soul of Ice had shattered into a blast of heat. _Damn it!_ He was on his hand and knees trying to regain control of his breathing and heart rate. He couldn't file these thoughts away for later. He needed another box. Still panting he was shocked when he looked for Akane and found her several meters away sitting down but leaning to the side rubbing her butt. He had to quickly look away as her skirt had ridden up from the action and was giving him a view he was certain that she was unaware of. That view was not going to help his thoughts calm down any. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, I just landed hard," She slowly stood back up and walked over to Ranma who now had his upper body propped up on his elbows, covering his face with his hands. "What happened?"

"You are evil. That's what happened." When he felt her hand on his shoulder he flopped over to his side and rolled onto his back. He heard her walk over to where his head was and when he opened his eyes, she was standing over him with a concerned look on her face. The corners of his mouth twitched as he noticed he once again had a great view. "Nice panties! When did you start buying lacy ones?"

She squeaked, blushed and pushed her skirt between her legs, backing away from his head. "Hmmph, I guess you haven't worked it all out yet," she countered as she rolled her skirt back down to its normal length.

"Give me a minute and I will." He started working on a second box. This one would be for thoughts about things that couldn't happen yet, thoughts about her naked body, thoughts about being married to her, even thoughts about future children. He labeled the box 'Someday' and started filing again. All thoughts about that three letter word were going in his new box. With his Soul of Ice back in place he started thinking about revenge.

He walked with purpose across the dojo to where she was standing, spun her around and hauled her backside up against his body. He could feel her warmth trying to battle with his cool, holding her tight he spoke in a calm, controlled voice, "Your hair smells like strawberries, even after you work out." He nuzzled her hair before continuing, "Your laugh makes me want to agree to anything. And I want to kiss you every chance I can, especially every night." He could feel her getting warmer in his arms but she stayed quiet, "Grabbing your hips and pulling you into me, makes me feel manly. Your breasts… oh I love them, they fit perfectly in my palms and I can't wait to get my hands on them again." He continued to torment her the way she had tormented him.

As he whispered all these things in her ear she felt like she was melting inside. She had never felt so desired. Ranma rarely put his thoughts into words for her, she knew he desired her because he loved making out with her. But to hear him say it, without moving his hands at all was incredible. He simply held her against him, her heat against his cold. She could almost feel the air around them battling for control. She heard him tell her that she was the only girl he had ever wanted and would ever want to be with and when she was ready he would be too.

"Oh god," she moaned and twisted in his arms crashing her mouth against his. Her hair blew around in the air currents created by the increased battle around them. She felt Ranma release his Soul of Ice and he held on to her as the warm and cold air exploded out from them, shaking the walls of the dojo. Her skin seemed to buzz with energy, it felt like she was stealing a little of his chi again but this time without activating his chi flows first.

It was later, he needed to feel her as every emotion, thought and wish came crashing forward. He started with her arms, running his fingers up and down them, reveling in them as he felt the muscles tighten and relax as he lightly tickled. Next he trailed them down her back, fisting his hand into her shirt at the small of her back. Wanting to feel her skin and muscles the way he did on her arm, he yanked her shirt free pushing his hand underneath. Her back muscles were as well toned as her arms, strength rippled through every part of her. She wasn't thick, she never had been, she was strong and it was amazingly alluring. Cupping her bottom with his other hand he lifted her off the ground, holding her firmly against him.

It seemed like his hands were worshipping her, moving over every inch of exposed flesh. She wrapped her legs around him and held on to him for dear life. She needed him almost as much as she needed air to breath. The hand that was supporting her back moved and reached back to massage her calf muscle and move excruciatingly slowly up her leg as if he was memorizing the shape.

His hand encountered the hem of her skirt and for the briefest moment he considered stopping, then didn't. The image of her moving through that kata planted itself into his brain and didn't budge. He heard and felt her whimper, her need as great as his. Pushing the skirt up as far as it would go, he allowed himself to indulge in her legs.

Worship was definitely the word to use for what his hands were doing to her. Regretfully she pulled back from him and panting heavily she reminded herself as much as him, "Someone could walk in here any minute."

"I can lock the door."

"I broke the lock, remember? And dinner will be ready soon anyway." She didn't let go with her arms or legs and laid her head to rest on one of her arms, still finding breathing difficult, "We will be alone on Saturday."

Ranma smiled at the thought, "Yeah we will." He held her for a few more minutes as his pulse and blood pressure returned to normal before carefully lowering her to the ground. He reached up to straighten her hair even though he liked the windblown look she had gotten, "Best training ever."

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Montaro Tateishi sat in the meditation area of the Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine seeking the wisdom to know how to proceed. His family had guarded this shrine and the treasures within it for generations. He considered himself an excellent judge of character and when his instincts had been rattled by the young woman yesterday he didn't ignore them. He had felt the presence of the dagger before he saw it hanging at her side. He didn't think it was coincidence that she had brought one of the four objects to the location of another. He played the part of boring old monk well when it suited him, he really did love talking about the restoration of the shrine. His niece currently headed the research team and was meticulous about the recovery. The beads had been recovered shortly after the volcano had erupted, their internal spiritual aura protecting them from damage, although until recently they had been still encased in lava rock. He had followed the pretty girl around hoping to find a way to take the dagger but ultimately had only bored her with stories about the recovery efforts. Regrettably he had lost her when she ducked into the building on the edge of the shrine property that housed the bathroom facilities, modern conveniences were necessary as donations drove the research team's efforts. It was unfortunate that she had visited on the day of the scavenger hunt. There were nearly 300 shrines on the mountain these days and the scavenger hunt was a big event that highlighted the cultural heritage of the various types of shrines.

The beads had been moved to a more secure location nearby after his niece had painstakingly freed them from the rock and thoroughly cleaned them. Only he and one other person knew the exact location of the underground storage site for the more valuable artifacts recovered. Replicas of many of those same artifacts were showcased in the main pagoda for tourist to enjoy, most had no idea that they were not looking at the real thing.

Meditation was proving fruitless so Montaro decided that the best thing he could do for the moment was notify the very short list of individuals who knew about and protected the knowledge of the true power of the four artifacts and the scroll that activated them. The perfect warrior could not be allowed to rise again. The dagger had already been failed to be protected and he was going to have some very harsh words for the man responsible for guarding it. _That arrogant idiot never did believe the stories his father told him._

The bell and the mandala were located to the north and south respectively while the scroll was actually somewhat nearby in a small suburb of Tokyo called Nerima. Groaning from stiff joints as he rose to make a few phone calls he truly didn't want to make, the monk bowed to the small statue of Buddha in front of him and said a quick prayer that he was over reacting.

00000

Akane helped Kasumi carry dinner to the table while Ranma was being grilled by their fathers about how he had figured out a way to counter the weakness in his Soul of Ice. They were getting frustrated because Ranma would only say "I just figured it out okay." By the time Akane sat down beside him, he was blushing and avoiding looking at anyone.

Kasumi changed the subject by asking Akane about her birthday plans. "Do you guys know what you are going to do tomorrow?"

Akane blushed, stole a glance at Ranma who was also blushing, and shrugged, "I don't know, we might go hiking if it is a nice day."

Nabiki rolled her eyes, "Hiking doesn't sound very romantic to me. It sounds cheep."

"Not everything is about money Nabiki." Akane wasn't surprised when that statement only elicited a scoff from her money hungry sister. Akane was trying to think of a way to steer the conversation away from their Saturday plans when a thought struck her, "We missed Ranma's birthday, we should plan a family dinner soon anyway to make up for it."

Ranma looked up from his half eaten meal, "Iffs mo 'ig v'eal."

Akane frowned at him, if at all possible it seemed like he was shoveling food into his mouth faster than before. "Of course it's a big deal. Kasumi will make you whatever you want."

"Oh yeah?" He pointed his chopsticks at her face before stuffing more rice in his mouth and quickly swallowing. "So what are we having tomorrow for yours?"

"She always asks for curry rice, fried calamari and dragon rolls." Nabiki shook her head, "Always. She has no imagination."

Ranma gave her a sideways glance, "Why those three things?"

Akane started to defend her choices when Nabiki interrupted her, "Mom let her pick the menu for her birthday each year. That is the last one she picked before Mom died. Now it never changes."

Ranma felt bad for asking and bringing up a sad memory for Akane but he also thought the tradition was sweet. It would have been nice to have had a special birthday meal made for him growing up. Pop and his constant travels meant sometimes they went without food let alone a special meal. Ranma looked up when his musings were disrupted by Mr. Tendo.

"I remember the year you asked for that meal. You spent three days trying to decide on the perfect menu, kept changing your mind. Your mother had enough food in the fridge to cover a month's worth of your birthday meal ideas. You settled on that particular menu about five hours before we were supposed to eat. Your mother had to run out to buy the calamari quickly so that she would have time to make it." Soun was already crying a little at the memory.

"Father, don't cry. That is such a sweet memory of mother." Kasumi remembered that week as well. She had spent most of it helping her mother keep track of all the changes Akane made. "You took your birthday meal very seriously that year Akane."

Akane had heard the story before but loved hearing it almost every year. She wasn't sure if her mother had already known she was sick at that time but it made her feel like she was special among her two sisters none the less. "At least I don't pick the most expensive thing I can think of each year."

Nabiki shrugged, "When else am I actually going to get it in this house."

"I have gotten to learn many gourmet recipes from Nabiki's choices, the French ones were the hardest." Kasumi passed Ranma another bowl of rice, "Ranma, you think about what you want and I will make it next week."

"Okay. Thank you Kasumi." Ranma was often humbled by the oldest sibling's sweetness and generosity. He didn't know how to tell her that he wasn't sure he wanted a special meal. After he found out about his mother, he secretly had wanted to spend his birthday with her but she was busy and had likely forgotten.

"Saotome, I remember the day I got your letter telling me that your wife had given birth to a boy. My wife was still pregnant with Akane at the time." Tears were streaming down Soun's face again, "We could finally join the schools."

"A happy day that was, I knew the boy would be special. The cherry blossom trees bloomed a full week early just for his birth. His mother said it meant his soul would be beautiful and sweet…"

Nabiki and Akane scoffed at that declaration.

"Hey…" Ranma glared at the two sisters.

"… but I knew that it meant he was blessed by the gods and chosen to be a great martial artist." Genma had his hand fisted over his heart and was preening towards the heavens.

"Ha, hear that? Blessed by the gods." Ranma puffed out his chest and gave a decisive nod to Akane. The next thing he knew he was flying backwards from the table. In hindsight he probably should have kept his eyes open, then he would have seen Akane's fist coming at his face.

"Hey I can't help it if your birth wasn't blessed with magical blooming trees." He saw Akane come at him again and took off running around the yard. Dodging her fists and only barely keeping ahead of her.

"You would think he would learn by now." Soun was smiling as he watched his daughter nearly catch her fiancé.

"I think he likes the punishment." Nabiki watched Ranma pretend to be tired before leaping away from Akane again.

"Tendo, I think we need to check on that shrine in town. It is important to the community you know."

"You are right Saotome, we should be responsible in our civic duty. Don't wait up for us girls."

Nabiki rolled her eyes at the pair, "Sure no problem." They were only looking for an excuse to go drink sake at their favorite bar. _Ranma's little pouch should keep them busy for a while._

Kasumi didn't bother Ranma and Akane while they played, instead she prepped the bath for the evening. Humming to herself, she tested the temperature of the water knowing they both liked it nice and hot. One day this house would be theirs to raise their family in, she had no doubt that they would marry and join the schools like their fathers wanted. Somehow they had managed to fall in love through all the craziness that surrounded them. She suspected that once they graduated high school it would not be long before she would be helping Akane plan a wedding. Hopefully by then their various suitors will have given up and the pair could quietly continue with their life. _Oh I doubt it, they both seem to attract unwanted attention._

Turning off the faucet she returned to the porch to find Ranma hiding behind around in the doorway that faced the yard. She walked over to stand beside Ranma, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Ranma the bath…"

Ranma felt Akane rounding the corner, she had been chasing him with a bucket of cold water. As soon as Kasumi had put her hand on his should he sensed Akane's attack. Grabbing Kasumi quickly he shoved himself between the water and her.

"… is ready." Kasumi stood shocked watching Ranma change in front of her. She heard her sister yell apologies from the yard. "Oh my, are you okay Ranma?"

The girl smiled back at her, "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Oh I am okay," she giggled, "You bravely took the hit for me. Thank you."

Akane ran up to the porch, "I'm really sorry Kasumi, I will clean up the mess."

"I think that is a good idea." Chuckling she returned to the kitchen to clean up the dinner dishes.

Akane grabbed a towel from the bathroom and started to soak up the water on the floor. "Aren't you going to help me?"

"Ha! No way, you were the one who grabbed the bucket. Beside it is your fault my clothes are all wet now. The bath is ready; I get it first today so I can change back." She huffed and strolled away while Akane stared daggers at her back.

Ranma kept his bath short, anxious to get shopping for Akane's birthday present over with, he dried off and redressed in dry clothes. He found Akane in her room and let her know the bathroom was free before returning to the guest room. Waiting until he heard the bathroom door close, he tilted the dresser back to retrieve the little money he had saved.

Frowning when he didn't feel it sitting where he had tucked it into the corner he moved the dresser to look underneath it. The pouch was gone. His aura flared instantly, _Pop took it! _"POP YOU BETTER RUN, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU."

Akane was getting ready to step into the bath when she felt the flare of Ranma's battle aura. _What is going on?_ When she heard him yell she sighed and resumed climbing into the tiled tub. If Ranma was mad at his father, she was going to stay out of it for now. She was exhausted, it had been a really long day.

Nabiki heard the house-shaking yell and casually strolled to the guest room. As she approached wood and pieces of wall shattered outward in her direction. She leapt back before storming into the room. "That is going to cost you." Ranma only stared at her, seething with anger. She was almost surprised he wasn't breathing fire, she had limited martial arts training but even she could see his aura was overheating.

He finally focused on Akane's sister standing in the doorway, "Not like I can help pay for it, when Pop steals my money every time he finds it."

"Putting holes in the wall is not going to get your money back." She carefully walked toward him, "I have a solution to your problem, and you know that. All you have to do is delay your day with Akane one day and you will be able to get her a nicer present as well."

He seemed to be looking through her, "Fine. What time do we leave Saturday morning?" Killing his father still sounded like a good idea too.

"6am and you better not over sleep. We'll discuss the details of our arrangement on the train there. I suggest you find a better hiding spot." Grinning Nabiki returned to her room to consult her research. She had files on each of the fighters likely to show up at the tournament. None of them seemed like they would give Ranma much trouble, so she had to consider how to draw out each fight to increase the betting against her future brother-in-law.

Akane found Ranma sitting in the guest bedroom on his futon. "What happened? You felt really angry."

"You could feel my aura?" He was rather amazed; she was getting really good at sensing auras even when she couldn't see them. At least his anyway, "It's nothing. Pop just made me really mad."

She leaned over and put her arms around his shoulders. "Tell me what happened."

He leaned back into her, enjoying her warmth. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, "Pop is just a jerk." He knew he should tell her about Saturday, _Was it so bad to want one day without upsetting her? _Today had been great, exploded eggs and all. _Later, I'll tell her later._

Ranma seemed really upset and she thought she even heard a little sadness in his voice. "Come on, let's get our homework done."

"Yeah, that is a good idea. If I am in here when Pop gets back, I might beat him to a pulp." He stood to follow Akane with his book bag to her room. She was wearing a simple tank top and exercise shorts. "No pajamas?"

"Kasumi has my yellow ones to fix them and my other sets aren't clean right now."

Ranma walked over to his drawer and pulled out his blue pajama set with fish cakes on it. He handed it to her, "Here you can wear mine if you want to."

She took them from him and held up the pants to her waist and laughed, "I'll be walking on these. Your legs are a lot longer than mine." She handed back the pants and pulled the shirt on over her tank top. It hung down past her hips and fit her more like a short nightgown but it was really comfortable. Holding her arms out and spinning around, "what do you think?"

He grinned at her antics, "I like it." He hoped it would smell like her when he finally got it back.

"Thanks for loaning it to me. You know, I never really figured out if these were stars or fish cakes." She studied the little pictures on the sleeve, "I mean fish cakes are round but they are the right color."

"Come on silly let's get our work done. Besides I think they are fish cakes." He followed her towards her room.

"That is just because you are always thinking of food."

"Not always."

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**AN: **Mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the Universe. The basic form of most mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point.

Thank you for continuing to read. R&R as you like.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer - **Nope don't own Ranma 1/2

**AN:** Nearly caught up from the holidays. Sorry for the late posting again. Fortunately my "editor" was able to look over this chapter fairly quickly after I finished it. Now if only I can get myself back ahead.

Chapter 12 – The Day Before

The next day Yuka and Akane were paired in Home Ec class to bake a cake. Yuka was concentrating on keeping the ingredients in the right order and handing them to Akane so that she couldn't grab the wrong thing to add into the bowl. Akane was maintaining a constant stream of chatter while they worked. Ignoring most of what Akane was saying, Yuka quickly put the salt container away before Akane thought it was sugar.

"… and on the way to school he carried my book bag for me."

"Here Akane, add the vanilla, I have already measured it." Yuka watched Akane dump in the vanilla and go back to absently stirring the batter. Fortunately Akane wasn't angry or in a hurry, so that meant she wasn't trying to stir it super fast but she wasn't really paying attention to her action either. Yuka sighed and used a paper towel to once again wipe some of the batter off the counter.

"… and then at lunch, did you see him sneak and hold my hand?"

She had seen that and wondered a little bit about it. Yuka once again consulted the recipe and ticked off the last ingredient before handing it to Akane. "That's it! We're ready to pour it in the pan. You hold the bowl and I will scrap it out with the spatula." They managed to get nearly all of the batter into two round pans and in the oven. Setting the timer Yuka tuned in more to Akane's ramblings as she they washed and dried the dishes they dirtied.

"He is never this nice to me. I mean it, never."

"Maybe he is trying to butter you up."

"For what though?" Akane couldn't think of anything that Ranma might want that he would go so far out of his way to be nice all day.

"Your birthday is tomorrow; maybe he is trying to make sure not to start a fight."

"Honestly, it is starting to weird me out. I mean I never liked those guys that always tried to do and say the perfect thing all the time." Akane shrugged as she placed the mixing bowl in the cabinet. "Even his smile is a little creepy today. His normal smile is casual and confident; today it seems a little overdone."

"I think most things Ranma does are overdone." Yuka and Akane both laughed while Akane grabbed the trash to empty while Yuka wiped down the counter.

"Now what? The time still says 15 more minutes." Akane pondered the temperature setting, "Maybe if we turn it up it will get done faster."

Yuke smacked Akane's hand away from the oven settings, "No, it will just burn. Let's make our icing while we wait."

00000

Ukyo was in her shop finishing up all the preparations she needed to do in order to open for the day. The grill was hot and all her ingredients were chopped and stowed in neat little containers. She had a few minutes before she put out her open sign, so she put her broom away and sat down in one of the chairs where customers usually sat. She had decided it was time to get a little one-on-one time with Ranma, how was she supposed to get him to change his mind if he was always with Akane. This weekend she was going to find a way. She thought about inviting him over for dinner but there was a chance Akane would come as well. They were practically inseparable and it was infuriating. _Maybe I should have hit him regularly and it would be me he liked better._ Ukyo almost missed Shampoo; at least they had agreed that it didn't make any sense for Ranma to like Akane. They had both dismissed her almost completely; she was never really nice to him. She often wondered what would have happened if Ranma hadn't been living under the same roof as Akane. _Would he like her less if he saw her less often?_

She had overheard two of Akane's friends talking about Akane's birthday tomorrow. They were chatting about how they hoped Ranma did something really romantic for their friend and how they were worried he would screw it up. _Hmmf, it's Ranma, of course he will screw it up._ If it were her, she would just tell him exactly what she wanted so that he couldn't mess it up. _Hmmm… maybe it could be me. _Ukyo smiled as she thought of the perfect way to spend some time with Ranma. All she had to do was tell him it was her birthday, not tomorrow of course, but maybe the next day. On Sunday she would show up at the Tendo Residence and ask Ranma to do something with her for her birthday. _Just Ranma, no one else_. It didn't matter that it wasn't really her birthday; no one else knew when her birthday really was so she could just make it up.

Smiling she stood and put her sign out for the day.

00000

Ranma was standing in the hallway holding buckets again. He had begun to see this as just another form of training, sometimes he held them with his arms bent, sometimes straight out from his sides. Other times he lifted them away from his body like he might when using free weights. As far as training goes this wasn't much of a challenge and certainly easier than anything his father had ever done to him.

This time he had been sent to the hallway for sleeping in class. He hadn't slept much last night; he had been trying to think of a way to tell Akane that he couldn't spend her birthday with her without starting a fight. It felt like they were fighting or disappointing each other nearly every other day lately. He hated to do it again but he was tired of borrowing money or relying on Kasumi to slip him a little extra. He appreciated the help, but now that he thought more about Nabiki's plan, it wasn't so bad. He was going to be able to make enough to buy the gift he really wanted to buy and he would do it using his own skills.

"If only the tournament wasn't being held on her birthday."

His time was up and he was allowed back into the classroom. Time seemed to be moving too fast today. He wanted to draw out the day more before he had to upset her once again.

00000

Akane was still perplexed, after walking home from school they immediately went to train as usual. Ranma had already told her that her warm up kata looked more graceful and then later he said that her technique had really improved. Now she was staring at him dumbstruck after they were finished sparring and he had no corrections for her.

"What is up with you today? You are acting really strange."

"Nothing"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"What's wrong with trying to be nice to you?"

Akane sighed dramatically, "I don't know. It's just weird." She stretched her arms upward and moved to her stance for their final kata today. This one would be slow and steady meant to create muscle memory for the movements. Once finished she turned to say something to Ranma again but he grabbed her before she could speak and soundly kissed her.

"I'm sorry I am being so nice to you today." He stuck out his tongue at her as he released her.

"Idiot" She eyed him skeptically, "I still think you are acting odd."

"Ah come on Akane, give me a break." He really didn't want to pick a fight today of all days. If they fought today telling her about tomorrow would be so much worse.

They walked back to the house, Ranma saw his father sitting with Mr. Tendo playing their usual game of shogi. He had avoided his father this morning and immediately after school but there he was, sitting playing as if everything was normal. He was probably cheating. Ranma was having trouble stamping down his anger. _Pop is a liar, a cheat and a thief. _He tried to control it but as they walked past their fathers Genma mutter something about the training paying off.

Something inside Ranma snapped and he grabbed his father and threw him forcefully into the wall surrounding the property.

Akane gasp in shock, "What was that for?"

"He knows exactly what it was for." Ranma hopped off the porch and stalked towards his father.

Genma actually feared his son right now, Ranma was incredibly angry; it rolled off of him in waves. There was only one thing he could think of to do that might save him from getting a thorough beating. He threw himself on the ground groveling, "Hardship will make you stronger. You weren't using it."

Ranma picked his father up off the ground, "Nothing you can say will make a difference."

"You shouldn't hide things from your father."

"I guess there was something you could say to make a difference." Genma smiled at Ranma's words before a fist was plowed into his face. "It made it worse." He dropped his father back to the ground and walked away.

Ranma was still tense as he returned to Akane's side. Her bewildered expression was not helping. He tried to smile at her but he couldn't seem to be able to get past his anger.

"What was that all about?"

"It's not important."

"Ranma…"

"Akane, can I explain it later?"

"Yeah, are you okay?"

"No, I need to calm down."

That she knew how to handle. She took his hand and led him upstairs to her bedroom while her father stared dumbstruck at his friend. Once there she indicated that he should lie down on her bed. Neither spoke as he removed his shirt and undershirt before stretching out on his stomach. She watched his muscles ripple throughout the actions. She never thought just the sight of a guy's torso could make her feel warm inside. Straddling him she worked her hands over his back in the massage pattern they had learned from Dr. Tofu. Ranma rarely needed her to do this anymore but if he was asking for it, then he had been seriously mad at his father. He hadn't lost control since the encounter with Shampoo shortly after they returned from China partly due to her learning how to relax his chi flows. Although he had confessed to her later that watching the fight with Kodachi had been really hard.

Her hands felt like magic against his skin and he was finally able to let go of the anger that had coursed through him. His father deserved what had happened but it had worried Ranma that he had actually wanted to lose control and hurt his father worse. "Thanks Akane."

"You completely relaxed?"

He shrugged, "I am relaxed enough."

"Turn over."

He lifted his head and angled it to look at her as much as he could, "Really?"

"Yeah, I guess I should reward you for being nice today instead of being suspicious."

Ranma felt guilty but he wasn't about to turn her down. "You don't have to if you really don't want to. I am fine now."

She pushed her weight up off of his butt, "Turn over or you will make me regret offering."

He couldn't help but smile, "You got it." He carefully rolled over and grimaced as she settled herself back down on his hips. _Danger!_

Akane got comfortable and started the same pattern across his chest. Dr. Tofu had explained to them that working on both his back and his front would be the most relaxing and Akane didn't want to see Ranma lose any ground on the progress he had made over the last few months. It didn't make sense though, in the past he only lost control when she was threatened or injured. Nothing happened this time to her. She wouldn't ask him now; at the moment she only wanted him to completely relax.

This was torture. He didn't know how long he was going to be able to let her continue. She shifted and reached for his collar bones and he was unable to stop the moan that escaped his lips. Fortunately it seemed that she assumed it was because of her massage and not because of where she was sitting pressed against him. As she continued to work her way down his chest she would shift her body occasionally to get more comfortable and he would struggle not to react. She finally reached the area below his belly button, ending the massage. She twisted her back to stretch it and then reach her arms above her head, arching her back and stretching his entire spine. Dying was not going to be enough to get him out of this embarrassment.

As Akane stretched she shifted her hips forward and more firmly against Ranma she suddenly realized why Ranma didn't seem to be relaxing while she had worked on his chest. The sensation that raced through her had her pulse quickening. Curious she shifted back then reach forward to his shoulders, slowly she moved her hips again closing her eyes and taking in a sharp breath. Ranma grabbed her wrists tightly causing her look down at his face wide-eyed and embarrassed.

"Baby, you gotta stop."

Her lips twitched at the endearment. Rolling her hips against him one more time she watched his eyes close and his mouth open pulling in a long breath and releasing it slowly. She blushed at the sight, "I'm sorry." She relaxed and tried to pull away from him.

He let go of her wrists and wrapped his arms around her, flipping their positions he pinned her to the bed. He kissed her long and hard, pressing himself against her causing both of them to moan. Finally lifting his head and shoulders away from her; he let her catch her breath and steadied his own. "You really are a little bit evil aren't you?"

They heard Kasumi call to them from the stairs, telling them that the bath was ready. Ranma planted another kiss on Akane's lips, "I am getting in first again today."

"What? Why?"

"Because I really need some cold water," Kissing her one last time he stood up and retrieved his shirts, slipping them back on quickly. "Seriously though, thanks again." He quickly made his way to the bath trying to avoid any prying eyes.

00000

She was determined to see Ranma without Akane around. Moving quickly through the shadows she sprang to a nearby window to see if she could spot her beloved. She watched the mousy haired one tend to the bathwater and realized that this could be her most perfect opportunity. Surely he would bathe alone, and when he did she would be waiting.

00000

Ranma entered the bathroom, tossed his clothes into the laundry pile then with a towel wrapped around his waist he opened the door to the bath. His blood was slowly returning to normal but he was still very much aroused. The cold water never looked so inviting.

He filled the tub and was holding it above his head when he heard an irritatingly high female voice behind him.

"My beloved, we are finally alone." Swooping in from her hiding spot at the ceiling, Kodachi wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

"Ack," Ranma released the tub he was holding, dumping the contents on his head. _Oh shit_! He felt the change happen. _And to think I was actually looking forward to the cold tonight._

Kodachi was confused as the hard body under her arms became soft and curvy. Looking up she found the red-headed pigtail girl that her brother favored. Not only that, the girl was naked, the towel having fallen to the floor. She screamed and launched herself away from the strange girl. "Where's Ranma?"

"I AM Ranma you insane wench." She was tempted to change back in front of her but didn't trust the crazy girl to behave herself with his naked male side. "Now get out of here."

"Not until I see MY Ranma."

00000

Akane was laying on her bed still breathing heavily when a scream tore through the house followed by Ranma's female voice yelling. She was pretty sure that she recognized that scream and bolted to the bathroom. She heard other footsteps running in her direction and figured everyone in the house was wondering what new chaos had been brought into their house.

She arrived at the bathroom first followed closely by the others. Slamming the door open she initially saw Ranma standing by the stool with nothing on, confused she looked across the room to where Kodachi was standing.

"You are not My Ranma; you have magicked him away from me." Kodachi, in her green leotard, was sobbing and pointing accusingly at Ranma.

"Well you are sort of right. You and your brother need to get it through your thick skulls that I am cursed. Everyone else in the school figured it out just fine, why are you two so dense?" Their whole family must be inbred or something. He couldn't think of any other reason to explain why they were all so incredibly dumb.

"BRING BACK MY RANMA!"

Ranma gritted her teeth and pressed her hands to the sides of her head. She was getting a headache, nothing ever convinced those two that they both wanted to date the same person.

Akane had had enough; this girl was annoying at best and dangerously psychotic at worst. Walking into the room she picked up the tub, filled it with warm water from the bath and splashed Ranma. He gave her a look that seemed to say 'Are you crazy?'

Kodachi squealed and ran open armed toward Ranma. Akane swung the tub around nailing the crazy girl hard in the side of the head sending her flying once again, this time through the half-open window, shattering the pane.

"Think she will get the idea this time? Or do you think I will be spending the rest of my life beating her off of you?"

The 'rest of my life' comment didn't escape Ranma or anyone else in the room. Genma and Soun wandered away with happy tears and stars in their eyes both commenting about the schools being joined soon. Kasumi gasped and covered her eyes leaving the room quickly. As she left, she pulled Nabiki gently out with her but not before the middle sister had managed to snapped a couple dozen photos of the encounter.

Akane glanced around and was suddenly aware that she was alone with a naked Ranma. She blushed and closed her eyes. "Um… Ranma… your towel."

Her blush made him remember his state of undress, reaching down he picked up the now wet towel and wrapped in around his waist holding it firmly in place. "Akane, I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention and didn't notice her in here." He knew his face was as bright red as hers but at least he wasn't turned on anymore.

She shook her head sadly, "She isn't going to leave you alone anytime soon."

"Maybe we need to find another guy for her to latch on to. Maybe then she will forget about me."

Akane laughed, "That could actually work. We just need to find someone more attractive that we can convince to take her out on a date."

"Good luck finding someone more attractive than me." Ranma lean over and poked her in the nose.

With a deadpan expression, "I don't think it will be that hard."

"Hey"

"You are not as awesome as you think you are."

"Am too"

Akane threw her hands up in exasperation then laughed, "Hurry up in here will ya. I need a bath before dinner is ready too." She closed the door behind her and went to see how much time they had before dinner was served.

Ranma finish as quickly as possible, for one he was afraid Kodachi might make a return trip and two he knew Akane would want to wash off the sweat from training. Normally she wouldn't care but tonight's dinner was all about her. He dried off and dressed in a fresh set of clothes.

Finding Akane, he let her know the bath was free and then decided to hang out on the roof until dinner. Avoiding his father as much as possible was probably for the best this evening. As he sat on the roof he heard Akane's voice drifting through the bathroom window that was now going to have to open until it was repaired. Moving to that end of the roof, he relaxed above the window and listened. She was singing, her voice wasn't terrible; it was actually kind of nice to listen to. She sometimes sang with her sisters and their karaoke machine but it was nice to listen to her voice without anything accompanying it. He relaxed there until he heard her finish and leave the bathroom.

Dinner was relaxed and fun as Akane's sisters took turns telling funny stories about her childhood. Akane still didn't know what was going on between Ranma and his father but she played it safe and switched places with him so that he didn't have to sit beside Genma.

Ranma smiled and laugh at the stories about her clumsiness and nearly choked on a dragon roll when Kasumi reminisced about how Akane didn't like keeping her diaper on when she played outside.

Akane blushed but laughed anyway, "You really didn't have to tell them about that Kasumi."

"You were such a cute child but already quite the tomboy." She smiled softly at her sister, "Mom used to enjoy your antics so much. She would always say your laughter made up for how hard it was to bring you into the world."

Akane knew this story by heart; her birth had been a difficult one. "Oh let me start this one. She was in labor for 25 hours and screaming in pain. They decided it would be best to surgically remove me. That's it. Nothing else."

Nabiki cackled, "Oh dear little sister that is not all there is to tell."

Ranma angled towards her and raised his eyebrows in question, "What else happened?"

"You really don't need to tell them…"

"She got stuck."

Akane huffed in frustration. They had to retell this story every year and she didn't know why she thought this year might be different.

"Stuck?"

Soun smiled at the memory, "Nabiki inherited her mother's figure and Akane was a very large baby. We had been told over and over again by the doctors that she was surely going to be a boy. Her mother insisted that they could be wrong and painted her nursery yellow, which she swore was a neutral color for boys or girls." His eyes were soft and misty as he continued the story, "On the day she went into labor we arrived at the hospital and waited patiently for our baby to arrive. When they told us it was time her mother pushed and pushed but she wouldn't budge. The doctor was afraid she was turned the wrong way but instead in turned out that her shoulders were stuck in my wife's narrow hips. They had to perform an emergency surgery to get her out."

Nabiki smirked, "Akane was the loudest baby in the nursery and always hungry."

Ranma frowned, "They almost died?"

Kasumi smiled, "No not really, the doctor was great and knew just what to do. They said the only reason that it happened was because Akane was several weeks late arriving and had grown too large."

"See Ranma, Akane has always had a boy's body."

"Shut up Nabiki."

During the remaining dinner time and desert Akane's childhood adventures continued to be shared. Ranma noticed many of the tales involved Akane defending her friends from boys who picked on them in the school yard. He was enjoying himself and a little jealous that Akane got to grow up with all these funny stories and surrounded by people who truly cared about her happiness.

Back upstairs in Akane's room after dinner they chatted some more. The fact that Ranma had to tell her soon was weighing on his mind. He saw her yawn and knew that would be his cue to leave, standing he scratched the back of his head and tried to find the right words.

"I am going to bed now; I want to get enough sleep for tomorrow."

"Akane, about tomorrow…"

She smiled brightly at him, "What?"

"Nah, it's nothing." He'd leave her a note. He simply couldn't bring himself to ruin her day. Tomorrow was already going to be ruined for her. Telling her tonight or finding a note tomorrow wouldn't change that. "Goodnight." He gave her a quick peck on the lips and left her room.

Smiling cheerfully she crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep easily, dreaming of Ranma and the brief peek she got of him in the bathroom. It surprised her a little after waking up from one of her dreams to realize she had been dreaming about a very naked female Ranma as well.

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**AN: **I have been looking forward to writing up the birthday scenes. I hope you will enjoy the next several chapters I have planned. And as always R&R as you like :)


	13. Chapter 13

**The usual disclaimer - ** I don't own Ranma 1/2

Chapter 13 – The Note

The next morning she woke and stretched lazily. Reaching over to turn on her desk lamp, she contemplated what to wear today. She wanted to hike up to the mountain to their favorite spot so she would need sensible clothes. No skirts or uncomfortable shoes, instead she chose cute but comfy shorts and a knit top. While she was checking her appearance in her mirror she noticed a sheet of paper on her floor beside the door. Picking it up, she recognized Ranma's handwriting.

Akane,

I'm very sorry that I have to do this to you. I can't spend the day with you today. Something happened and forced me to change our plans. I hope you still have a happy birthday. I'm sorry. I ruined another birthday. Please believe me, I love you and don't want do this. I promise to explain everything tonight.

Your Idiot

She felt like burrowing back under the covers of her bed and pretending it was a bad dream. She huffed and pouted for a full hour before crushing the letter into a ball and throwing it in the trash. _I am not spending my seventeenth birthday moping in my room._ She grabbed her purse and stormed out of her room, stomping down the stairs to the phone and called Yuka. She knew her friend would be indignant on her behalf and maybe they could find a way to chase away her sadness.

00000

Yuka hung up the phone and immediately picked it up again placing calls to her other friends. It was up to them again this year to make Akane's birthday fun. She wanted to kill Ranma for ruining it once more this year. _What in the world could have been more important than spending the day with his fiancé?_ She arranged for everyone to come to her place first then they would go get Akane with a plan in place to keep her mind off of Ranma's latest mistake. Akane hadn't given her any details; she had just said that Ranma couldn't spend the day with her and she didn't want to be alone.

Once everyone arrived she sat them all down in her living room. Pacing back and forth in front of them, "We need ideas for things to do today that won't remind her of that idiot. For some unknown reason he abandoned her on her birthday and ladies the next time we see him, we are going to give him hell."

Sayuri raised her hand. Yuka rolled her eyes at her friend, "We aren't in school."

Makoto leaned over and whispered to Shikako, "Sure seems like it."

Sayuri took a deep breath, "Did they break up?"

"No and she will probably forgive him yet again, so for now our focus is on her and making her happy today." Yuka stopped in front of the girls, "What are we going to do today?"

"Ice cream, that always make me feel better!"

"Lunch at a fun restaurant."

"Shopping! We get her to buy herself something to make Ranma regret leaving her today."

Yuka beamed, "That is perfect. All of it. We start with shopping," Nodding to the others, "Let's go get her."

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Akane tried to wait patiently for her friends to arrive at her house. After she got off the phone with Yuka she had retrieved the note that Ranma left for her. Rereading it over and over, she still couldn't think of what was so important and why he didn't tell her. Whatever it was, he hadn't been willing to take her with him. Beginning to fume, she thought that it probably had something to do with one of the other girls. That was how it always used to be. He would disappear to try and fix something before she could find out or see something. It never helped; she always found out and today would be no different.

Although in the note he did say he would explain everything when he got home tonight. _Could it have something to do with the reason he was so angry with his father? _She was going to drive herself crazy trying to think about it. She needed to do something distracting.

Kasumi watched her sister from the top of the stairs. She wasn't sure what was going on but Akane was definitely upset and she hadn't seen Ranma all morning. In fact, Nabiki hadn't made an appearance yet either. Crossing quietly to Nabiki's room she knocked on the door, only opening it slowly when she got no answer. Her sister's bed was made and the room was dark. Flipping the switch she saw no sign of her enterprising sister and left the room. _What could Nabiki be up to now?_

Akane heard a knock at the front accompanied by Yuka's voice and bolted for the door. "I'll be back later," She yelled to anyone who might be interested. Stepping into her shoes and opening the door, she closed it quickly behind her. She plastered a smile on her face but it didn't look like any of her friends were buying it. "What are we doing today girls?"

"First up is shopping. You are going to buy something special." Yuka smiled slyly at her and pulled her out the gate.

They drug her to a department store, standing in front of a clothing section targeted to young women; her friend took measure of the choices. "We are going to find you an outfit that will make that jerk regret he stood you up today," Yuke announced.

"But…"

"No buts," Sayuri pointed her finger in Akane's face. "And don't even think about starting to forgive him. He knew today was supposed to be romantic."

Akane wasn't so sure that Ranma knew that, being as he was so socially inept when it came to romance. She let a soft sigh escape her lips; she had hoped for a movie marathon or maybe going to the amusement park in the area. Unfortunately it seemed her friends were out for revenge. She watched the four of them grabbing items while Yuka went to reserve a changing room.

By the time they were ready for her they each had three or four outfits for her to try on. _This is going to take a while._ She was shoved into the changing room and Makoto handed her the first one to put on and closed the door.

"You have to come out and show us each outfit."

"The shirt on this one isn't going to cover my stomach completely!" Akane grimaced as she held the shirt, still on the hanger, against her.

"That's the point. You need to have a few sexy outfits to drive him crazy with."

Akane flush remembering that Ranma liked her shortest skirt, but her friends would never understand the reason he did. She always lamented her lack of curves, how could a guy like Ranma like her figure over Shampoo's generous shape. To discover that Ranma could be distracted by her larger muscles made her feel powerful. _Why am I thinking like this? I am mad at him._ She pulled her clothes off and put on the first top and shorts. The shorts were really small and a little too tight in the butt. Like Akane predicted the shirt left her mid-drift showing.

"Are you about done in there?" Sayuri was getting impatient. Turning to Yuka she whispered, "She isn't going to go through with this. Maybe we shouldn't have started with one of Makoto's choices." They had all noticed that their friend had started favoring skimpier clothes since Hiroshi had asked out a couple other girls. Yuka and Daisuke were dating exclusively but Hiroshi wouldn't commit to only one girl.

Akane stepped out of the changing room with a frown on her face. "This isn't comfortable at all." She saw Makoto narrow her eyes at her, "I mean it is too tight across my stomach and look if I bend at all it makes me look funny." It was true; if she were to sit down at all some of her belly fat would fold over the top of the short. She didn't feel attractive or sexy in it.

Yuka piped up and saved her from further hurting Makoto's feelings, "I bet she would look better in the red shirt you picked out Makoto. Give her that outfit next." Yuka stood and retrieved the next selection from her friend and handed it to Akane.

The red one was better and so she was spared from hurting Makoto's feelings again. Ultimately she settled on a short baby blue skirt with a white V-neck shirt with little blue and yellow flowers along the neckline and thankfully it covered her stomach. Sayuri caught her looking at some Chinese style dresses and pulled her away.

"No you are looking at those and thinking about how they would match Ranma's favorite shirts. We are out to make him jealous, not happy."

"I wasn't thinking that. They look pretty and are silky. I am mad at him…. Remember?" She thought maybe she wore far too much cotton. She thought about the times Ranma had put one of his shirts on her to protect her modesty and she had liked the feel of the silk against her skin. As she strolled to the checkout the pajamas section caught her eye. She could really use a new pair, her others were getting pretty old and besides, ever since Ranma had pointed out that her favorite yellow ones had pig faces on them that looked like P-Chan she was having trouble wearing them.

Yuka and Saiyuri watched their friend detour to the lingerie section and stood gaping at her. Looking at each other both raised their eyebrows in question. Yuka moved to follow and the others weren't far behind.

Yuka cleared her throat, "Um…Akane, are you buying lingerie?"

Akane rolled her eyes and sighed, "I just need a new pair of pajamas. Mine are old. Besides some cooler ones would be nice for the summer."

Shikako held up a lacy number, "How about this one?" She was grinning from ear to ear.

Akane blushed profusely, "Um… no. I need something I can actually wear around the house." She wandered over to a rack with some satin sets hanging on it. Lifting one up, she saw they were shorts with a little ruffle at the bottom and a sleeves shirt. The shirt had little ruffles around the arm holes that matched the shorts. "These are cute!" holding them up with a smile.

The others nodded their agreement. Akane scanned the color selections and chose a yellow set. She really liked the way she looked in yellow and pink. She figured since she was kind of replacing the yellow cotton set then picking yellow for this set made sense.

The others had also found a few new items and chatted about where to have lunch while they waited in line. From behind her, Akane heard a familiar voice.

"Akane, is that you dear?"

Turning around, she was now face to face with Nodoka Saotome, Ranma's mother. Akane was confused; she had been told that his mother was helping a friend who was dying of an unknown illness on the island of Okinawa. Genma had shown Ranma postcards and given him phone messages from her. It always struck Akane as being odd that she always called while he was at school. She should know that he wouldn't be around to talk but then again she did always seem to be a bit dim. _What kind of mother would actually let her son be taken on a training journey that lasted over ten years? Not to mention the fact she had been willing to kill them should Ranma fail to become a man among men. _

"Hello Mrs. Saotome," She heard a couple of her friend's surprised gasps around her. They had never met the woman but Akane had shared her appall about how she let her son go with Genma all those years. Her friends had also heard about some of the ridiculous things his father had done to him in the name of training. They had all seen the result of the Cat Fu training at school shortly after Ranma came to Nerima.

"Oh Akane dear, remember you must call me Auntie Saotome at least. Someday I am sure you will call me mother." She smiled so sweetly at Akane that for a moment she forgot that this was the same woman who used to carry a katana with her, "You girls out doing a little shopping?"

Yuka smiled back, "We are cheering up Akane since Ranma missed her birthday today."

Akane gave Yuka a sharp look and shook her head at her. "He couldn't help missing it of course."

"Well of course he couldn't dear. I am sure he wishes he was here but he is doing it for you, I am sure of it." Nodoka paid for her own purchase and returned to the girls, "Happy Birthday. What is next for you today?"

She seemed to know where Ranma was, now Akane wanted to talk to her a little more, "Well, we were about to find a place to eat lunch. Would you like to join us?"

"Oh that sounds wonderful," Clasping her hands together she smiled now more broadly than before, "I have been so lonely without my family. In fact I have a marvelous idea; you can all come to my house for lunch. I haven't had the opportunity to cook for anyone since the repairs were finished."

Akane couldn't help but return the woman exuberant smile and neither could any of the other girls. Akane explained to her friends, "Mrs. Saotome is an excellent cook. I am sure we will have a great meal with her." Akane was pleased to be able to spend more time with the woman who would be her mother-in-law someday but she was definitely confused. _How long has she been back and why hasn't she come to visit Ranma at our house?_

With their purchases in tow the group followed Nodoka to her home on the opposite side of Nerima from the Tendo's place. Nodoka kept up a steady stream of chatter while on the way, telling Akane how proud she was of her son asking how she was doing after returning from Jusenkyo.

"I would have visited you dear but I understood that you needed lots of rest to recover. Ranma fighting to save you shows how much he truly loves you even if, like most brave men, he cannot say it or show it."

The girls looks at Akane with confusion, Sayuri spoke first, "I thought Ranma had told you he loved you?"

Nodoka spun around causing her bag to smack Yuka's nearly knocking her down, "He has told you? How wonderful? Are you planning to get married immediately when he gets back?"

"Um… well… Yes he told me that he loves me, after he saved me in China. And no we are not planning to get married immediately when he gets back." Akane's confusion continued. _Why would Ranma being gone for one day mean we have to get married?_

Shikako leaned over and whispered, "Is she always like this?"

Akane nodded and offered her friend a weak smile. Looking forward again she saw that they had arrived at their destination. Nodoka directed them to sit at the table while she prepared tea in the kitchen.

Yuka leaned in and the rest of them responded in kind. "What's the deal Akane? I thought you said she was out of town."

"That's what Ranma's father told us."

"Do you think he knows that she is back?" Sayuri asked her.

"I don't think so. Something seems off though and I want to find out what it may be."

Makoto perked up and clapped, "Ooh so we are like detectives today. How fun!"

Yuka grinned, "We will follow your lead Akane. Girls don't give away anything unless Akane does. Okay?"

They all agreed and Sayuri gave Yuka a smirk and a quick salute. They returned to casual conversation about plans for the day as Ranma's mother returned to the table. Setting the tea set in the middle she poured five cups of tea then settled into her own spot.

"Akane dear, do you think Ranma is doing well?"

"Um… yes Auntie Saotome I think he is doing great." Akane took a deep breath and tried to think of the best way to ask her question. _Maybe direct is best. _"Do you know where Ranma is right now?"

"Oh right now? I am not sure but I can tell you where he has most recently been. I got my last postcard a week ago." She stood and left the room again.

"What does she mean postcards?" Akane was more confused than before.

Yuka patted her arm, "I think you are about to find out."

She returned to the room carrying what was obviously a very old shoebox. "I kept them all in here. Ranma takes the time to write me once a week and tell me of his journeys. Before when he was traveling with his father to train his marital arts I didn't receive as many updates. Then of course after Jusenkyo I stopped hearing all together." Turning to Akane's friends, "Akane knows the rest of that story. I finally found out he was staying with her family and that my precious son was engaged to this lovely young girl."

Akane blushed at the praise, "Yes Auntie I remember." She remembered all right, they spent most of the time trying to hide Ranma from his mother by saying that he was her female cousin Ranko who had a pet Panda. "I was very relieved when you were not mad about the curse."

"I am so glad he is going to rid of that awful curse. All these weeks in China, away from you, searching for a cure must be so hard for him. My husband's silly curse will be gone soon too I am sure. They must be getting close to finding something that will help." She calmly sipped her tea. "Well girls I should go see about making lunch for us. I don't want to make you wait long, do you mind if it is a simple meal?"

"Of course not…"

"Not at all…"

"Anything is great…"

Akane was please with her friends' enthusiastic responses. "Auntie, may I read some of your postcards while you make lunch?"

"Of course you can. I am sure you will enjoy the nice things your fiancé tells me."

As soon as she left the room the girls pounce on the box. Upon opening the lid they found dozens of postcards. Akane picked one up to read it.

Mother, Jusenkyo is not the right place to find a cure. We are traveling in northern China now, following a clue given to us by a kindly monk. Please do not fret for me. I must do this in order to be a good fiancé for my beautiful Akane and to carry on the legacy of the Anything Goes School.

Love,

Your son Ranma.

Yuka frowned, "That doesn't sound like something Ranma would write. I mean no offense Akane, but Ranma isn't really eloquent… at all."

"No offense taken. I do homework almost every night with Ranma. This is definitely not his handwriting either." Akane stared at the postcard for a long time. Something else seemed wrong but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Sayuri reached into the box and pulled out another one, "Um… guys… This one is postmarked from Japan, not China."

They all began to pull out postcards one at a time and set them on the table. Sure enough each one had the same Japanese postmark but described a different area of China they were traveling in. Akane was getting angry as she was getting a clear picture of what was going on. "Not one of these is from China and I am pretty sure that this is Ranma's father's handwriting."

"Do you think Ranma knows?"

"Absolutely not, he misses his mother and I know he was hurt that she wasn't at our house when we got back from China." Akane's face was grim as she leaned forward to whisper once again, "His father seems to still be afraid of his wife. What dear Uncle Genma has done this time is going too far."

Yuka was a little shocked by the malicious glare in Akane's eyes. "What are you going to do?"

"Something will come to me. I think telling her out right will hurt her too much or she simply won't believe me." Akane pondered her options while her friends whispered among themselves.

Yuka drew her out of her thoughts, "Hey Akane, do you really think that she wouldn't believe you?"

"Maybe, she could decide I am still recovering from my ordeal at the curse springs," She put air quotes around ordeal as she spoke. "I think if she found out on her own it would be better."

"Are you going to tell Ranma?"

"I am going to have to."

"This is really strange Akane."

"Welcome to my world."

Nodoka returned with sandwiches, a platter of fruit and some cookies. "I am so glad I made these cookies yesterday, now I have someone to share them with. I occasionally make cookies in case Ranma returns home."

Sayuri smiled sweetly at the older woman, "I am sure you will see him soon Mrs. Saotome."

"Do you really think so dear? I hope so. I very much miss him." She was seated next to Akane and reached over to pat her hand. "Now that you are well and able to leave the home, I hope you will visit as much as you like. I think we should continue to get to know each other."

"I would like that Auntie Saotome."

Chatter turned other topics as they ate their lunch. Nodoka wanted to know all about school and how the girls were doing in their classes. She was excited when Yuka told her about how Akane and her had made a pretty good cake in Home Ec. the day before. "I am glad to hear your cooking skills are improving."

Shikako nearly choked on her food but managed to recover quickly and smile, "Almost swallowed wrong, excuse me."

Nodoka looked at her with concern and Yuka quickly patted her on the back, "She'll be fine."

Shikako nodded in agreement and took another drink of her tea while Akane raised on eyebrow at her.

"Thank you for lunch Auntie Saotome." All the other girls chimed in their thanks as well. "You should let me return the favor and join my family for dinner tomorrow. I am very sorry I did not invite you to my birthday dinner."

"Think nothing of it. I hope one year I am able to cook Ranma a birthday dinner." Sighing heavily she became lost in thought for a moment before focusing back on Akane and smiling, "I would love to see your family again Akane. What time should I arrive?"

"Um… we usually eat around 6 o'clock." Akane laughed, "I heard that Ranma's birth was blessed by cherry blossoms. I know it is a tall tale but it is a cute story."

"Perfect, I will definitely be there but Akane, and that isn't a tall tale. Cherry blossoms were blooming when Ranma was born." She smiled dreamily at the memory, "I told my husband that the boy was surely blessed by the gods."

"That's odd. Ranma told me his birthday was January first."

"He was probably just teasing you. He was born April 15th." Laughing at Akane she hugged the girl tightly, "I am sure you girls want to get back to your day. Thank you for keep me company for a while." She smiled as the girls help clear the table and clean the dishes. "You are all wonderful young ladies." Turning to Akane, "I hope you are not angry with Ranma for being gone so long, it is something you will have to get used to once you are a martial artist wife."

Akane cringed but tried to smile, "Since I practice martial arts too I am sure we will enjoy training together."

"I am sure he will encourage you to improve your skills but Ranma will require dangerous and intense training. Nothing else would be expected of a great martial artist such as him."

"Let's go Akane," Yuka all but drag her friend out the door knowing she would love to insist she was a great martial artist too.

"Bye bye girls. Have fun today."

They all waved in return. When they were far enough away Sayuri started laughing out loud. "My god that woman is dense." Turning to Akane, "And when did you start channeling Nabiki? If I were her, I would kill my husband for tricking me like that."

Akane smiled evilly, "Genma will probably find a way to get out of it but I am going to make sure Ranma doesn't get blamed at all." Although after yesterday Akane wasn't sure that Ranma finding out while his father was around would be a good idea. She needed to find a way to tell him before he encountered his mother and she was curious to find out why he lied to her about his birthday.

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**AN:** Hope you liked the first installment of the birthday weekend. Next we will see how Ranma starts his day. R&R as you like.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer -** I do not own Ranma 1/2

**AN:** I am so sorry about the long wait for an update. I rewrote this chapter several times because it kept feeling forced or out of character. I am finally satisfied with it and hope you enjoy it too. Putting a few corrections into last chapter too... nothing big just a couple grammar problems that were pointed out to me. I don't mind grammar correction sent to me as long as they are nice and these certainly were :) My goal was to always be 2 or 3 chapters ahead of what I was posting so that I could spend a lot of time rereading my work for corrections and adjustments but in December I fell behind and have stayed behind. This chapter probably has a couple that I nor my editor caught (and he already caught a dozen or so for me).

Chapter 14 – Forging Signatures

Nabiki woke to her alarm, groaning and stretching she forced herself to get out of bed. First thing she needed to do was make sure Ranma was up and getting ready to leave. As she approached the guest room she could hear Genma snoring loudly, sliding the door silently she immediately saw that Ranma's futon was unused. She descended the stairs and checked the kitchen but he was not to be found. Thinking that he might have actually gotten up to bathe she started toward the bathroom but soft snoring from the family room caught her attention.

Ranma was asleep at the table with his head cushioned by his arm. He had pages of letters started and discarded around him with only one neatly folded. Disgusted she picked up the folded letter and read it. It was obvious that Ranma truly did not want to be away from Akane today. She almost felt really bad… _almost._ Quickly and quietly she took the note upstairs and slide it under she sister's door. She didn't want the fool chickening out on her. Once back downstairs she shook Ranma awake.

"Time to go."

"Mphf… 5 more minutes."

"You can get more sleep on the train." Well maybe she would let him get a little more but he also needed to learn as much about her plan as possible.

One eye opened and glared at her. "Do we really have to get up this early?"

"Good god you are whiny in the morning. How does Akane stand it?"

"Don't have to get up this early for school."

"Oh boohoo. Get moving." She stormed out of the family room to scavenge something for breakfast in the kitchen. Ranma eventually joined her and they managed to make a meal out of cold cereal, bananas and juice.

They both changed and finished getting ready, eventually meeting at the door. Ranma was still glaring at her every chance he got, "You are buying everything I need to day. Like a train ticket, entrance fee, and lunch."

"That is all calculated into my investment. I expect you to follow my directions and make this day very profitable for me."

"Fine"

The walk to the train station passed in silence, which was fine with Ranma. As promised Nabiki paid for the two tickets and they found seats easily enough. They were heading somewhere north of Tokyo, he only knew that because he had overheard the attendant ask if she needed the northbound or southbound train and she had said north. He wanted to know as little about the "plan" as possible, figuring he would just get mad at the absurdity of it. The sun was starting to come up, he imaged that Akane would be up fairly soon. She was an early riser and to make it more irritating most mornings she was a happy person.

He was able to relax in the seat and imagine Akane finding the note and being upset. She would probably break some bricks while imagining that they were his head. He couldn't help but smile at the thought as he leaned his head back to try and catch a little more sleep.

"You're not going to sleep yet," Nabiki reached out and smacked him with her notebook.

Opening one eye, "You said I could sleep on the train."

"It got you up and moving. So sue me… I lied." She opened her notebook and crossed her legs, "Right now you need to listen closely. I have a list of likely opponents to go over with you."

"Really," he groaned.

"Yes, now pay attention. Most of the guys you will fight will be very easy for you to defeat. There is only one guy that might show up that will give you a bit of trouble."

"You really think someone is going to actually give me trouble? Get real."

Poking him with her pencil, "He cheats."

"All my opponents cheat; hell my own father cheats every chance he gets."

She chewed her pen as she considered the statement, "Good point. You are still going to have to hold back." Consulting her notes once again, "His name is Kenta Masaru. New participants are not supposed to be paired against previous winners in the first round so you will not see him for a little while."

"Whatever"

"Don't screw this up for me Ranma. You need the prize money."

"Look, I can win this thing hands down. I don't need you to help me win. I agreed to your terms, but don't push me."

"You'll listen to me?" She eyed him closely.

"Yeah, as long as you don't make me look like an idiot," Then, thinking for a minute, "and keep any cold water from hitting me. That will definitely ruin your plans."

"Deal… go back to sleep."

Nabiki poked him again when they were near the station. "Wake up Sleeping Beauty." She heard him only growl in response and figured that was enough for now. Packing all her things away into her bag, she smoothed her slacks and shirt. It was time to look like she actually knew what she was doing.

Ranma woke up just enough to follow Nabiki off the train; fortunately the walk wasn't far to the arena where the tournament was being held. Once there she had him stand in the registration line while she left to find a phone.

She placed a quick call home so that Kasumi didn't overly worry, "I don't know if we will be home in time for dinner." Her sister assured her that plates would be left in the refrigerator for them, "Um… Ranma doesn't want Akane to know he is here. He wants the prize money to buy her a gift." Nabiki wasn't surprised to find out that her sister didn't stay home and pout but instead called her friends. She returned to where Ranma was standing in line, now nearly to the booth, "Well Ranma, looks like Akane isn't staying at home crying over you today."

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

"She took off with her friends. I bet they will make sure to remind her that you are a terrible fiancé for being gone. That is what friends do for each other… especially girls." She grinned at him.

"Where did they go?"

"How should I know? I didn't bother asking." When Ranma looked away she began getting the somewhat forged paperwork out of her bag_. Technically Ranma represented the Tendo Dojo, but technically that wasn't her father's signature on the forms. What Daddy doesn't know won't hurt me._

Ranma felt a building tightness in his chest that hadn't been there in a long time. He tried to control his heart rate by closing his eyes and focusing on his breathing. He was pleased when he started feeling calm again. _Maybe I don't have to worry about it anymore._

Nabiki filled out several more forms and answered questions from the person checking them in. She filled herself in as Ranma's manager so that she could be close enough to him to direct his actions but no one would think twice about her speaking to people attending. They would assume she was drumming up a sponsorship or two for her new "star." She took the map handed to her and turned to Ranma, "Time to find the locker rooms."

He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and was scowling. Shrugging she assumed he was still irritated with her but when he won his attitude would change. She tugged his elbow and pulled him in the right direction. He didn't seem to be paying her much attention at all.

Ranma thought he had stamped down the raising panic but he still felt off. He knew he was being pulled along by Nabiki and thought that maybe he should try to stop being cold towards her. It wasn't like this was her fault really. He flexed and forced his shoulders and arms to relax and picked up his pace so that she didn't have to pull on him.

"Here, go change." She handed him a black belt and pointed him toward the correct door. As he opened the door to the locker room they heard high pitched laughter behind them somewhere. The type of psychotic laugh that sent shivers up any sane person's spine. Both Nabiki and Ranma turned quickly scanning the crowd for Kodachi. Nabiki spotted a young girl who was the source of the unfortunate pitch, "Whew, if it had been the crazy one our plan would be blown. All your various suitors better be back in Nerima."

Ranma quickly escaped into the locker room and sat down on a bench near the back. He knew his hands were shaking and he felt like he couldn't breathe. He knew there were other competitors in the room but it seemed like they were moving in a fog around him. He couldn't hear their voices or make out faces. All he could see were images his mind was generating, knowing they weren't real didn't help him relax but he was able to keep himself from running out the door to the nearest train station. He saw Akane alone in the street, being pursued by Kodachi, Mousse, Pantyhose Taro, Kiima, Shampoo or any of the other crazy people who had hurt or taken her away from him in the past year. He kept getting flashes of her in his arms not responding as he called out to her. He became aware his was standing and sat back down again, vaguely wondering why his hand hurt. Now his head was feeling light and had to put it in his hands while the dizziness passed.

Ranma seemed to be taking his sweet time so Nabiki retrieved the first round match ups and took a few bets. On her way back to the bench outside the locker rooms she overheard two participants talking.

"When he dented that locker I was worried he was going to be a serious challenge but I think he is going to stay sitting in that corner the whole tournament."

"Some people think because they know a little martial arts they can sneak into one of these things and make a show of themselves."

"That kid will be out in the first round."

"Hell yes he will, we'll be sending him home with that black pigtail between his legs."

_Black pigtail has to mean they are talking about Ranma but I have never known him to even pretend to be scared._ Instead of sitting back down she marched into the locker room to the great surprise of a few participants.

"You can't be in here."

"Take a hike I need to check on my student."

"Calm down little lady. The kid back there must be yours," Using his thumb to point over his shoulder he indicated the last row of lockers. "Trust me; your student isn't ready for a competition like this. You should wait for the junior event next week."

"I'll take that under advisement." She narrowed her eyes as the men left the locker room. "Ranma?" She walked to the back row and took a step back in shock when she saw him. He was visibly shaking and muttering to himself. She had learned over the years to listen to her own instincts and they were screaming at her to be careful. She approached him very slowly.

"Ranma, you don't have to put on this much of an act but it is working, no one thinks you are a threat." He didn't answer her and kept his head in his hands. Gently she wrapped her fingers around his wrist intending to pull his hand away but she could feel his pulse jumping under her fingers. _He's not acting… shit what is going on?_

There were several time slots for the first round of fights and Ranma didn't fight in the first two groups so that gave her a little extra time to figure out what to do. She tugged carefully on his arm and pulled it away from his head. She could tell his breathing was unusual and his pupils were very constricted. "Ranma what is going on?"

When he didn't answer she tried another tactic, "Ranma Saotome, you will tell me what is going on right now."

"I need to get back to Akane."

She almost didn't hear him he had spoken so quietly, "Why?"

"She could be hurt."

"Why would she be hurt, that's absurd?"

"Kodachi could find her, Shampoo could do something crazy, Moussse might turn her into a duck, or Kiima…" He shutter violently, stood quickly, slamming his hand into a nearby locker. "I'm not there to make sure nothing happens to her again."

"You can't be there all the time."

"I have to be. I can't let it happen again."

_He can't let it happen again… what is he talking about? Maybe when she was taken to China? _"She can take care of herself. She had already proven that before you ever came into her life. She fought the horde of boys every day, sure things got crazier when you showed up but she is always fine." She watched him shake his head vigorously and scoffed at him, "So what if she was a little weak when you got back from China. She is fine now."

Ranma laughed dryly, "A little weak?"

Nabiki stepped away from him when he turned and looked at her. Anger was rolling off of him in waves, even she could easily feel it. "SHE DIED IN CHINA. I DIDN'T PROTECT HER. I FAILED AND SHE ENDED UP DEAD IN MY ARMS."

She sucked in a breath, "You're lying. She didn't die, she came home with you."

Ranma collapsed back down onto the bench and hung his head.

"You need to calm down so that you can explain it all to me." She could see that he was still shaking. She remembered that he acted strange after a fight with his father when Akane had accidentally gotten hurt. He had knocked his father unconscious again recently and afterwards had told Akane he needed to calm down. They had disappeared for a while into her room after that. "This isn't the first time this has happened to you is it?" Eyeing the two lockers in front of him, she was glad they weren't people.

His only response was to shake his head.

"You never back down from a fight and you aren't going to start today. You are doing this for Akane. She is fine, I am sure of it. Last year all they did was get together at Yuka's house and watch movies, they don't even watch scary movies since Akane doesn't like them."

Ranma focused on imaging her sitting with her friends watching movies and complaining about him. Her friends seemed to be able to both cheer for their relationship and tell Akane what a jerk he was sometimes. He found he could start to control his breathing again and the tightness in his chest loosened a little. "Thanks."

She reached out to grab his wrist again and took his pulse. With Akane's proclivity to have minor accidents both Kasumi and she had taken first aid, so she knew his heart rate was still too high. She stared at him with wide eyes. Slowly and cautiously she kneeled down in front of him, "You need to take deep breaths. Breath with me… three counts in and four counts out."

Concentrating on controlling his breathing, he was surprised when she stood and moved behind him, even more so when he felt her hands begin or work on his back. He finally felt relief, not quite the same as when Akane helped him but it was working. He felt in control again and could focus on his surrounding once more.

"How did you know how to do that?"

"I just thought a massage would relax you."

Turning to face her better he scrutinized her face, "I don't think you are telling the whole truth. You followed chi flows along my back. Why?"

Nabiki folded her arms across her chest and tried to look bored. "You were having a panic attack. I dealt with it so you can go fight and win me some money. That's all." Glaring at him, "Enough about me… what the hell did you mean when you said that Akane died in China?"

Ranma took a deep breath and gave her a very brief explanation of the events. "I swear I have no idea how she came back. Sometime I think if I knew then this…" he gestured at the lockers, "would get better." He stood and stared down at her, "Your turn. How did you know what to do about the panic attack?"

It didn't seem he was going to let it go, "After our mother died things were bad. Father stayed in bed for days at a time, to say he didn't handle it well is an understatement. Akane barely remembers and most of the time Kasumi kept her entertained. We were all still young but a man came to the house and explained to our father that we might lose the house and be homeless if he didn't start paying the bills. I am sure you will not be surprised to learn that I was listening in on the conversation. I told Kasumi and we started looking for all the bills. The amount due was enormous and we couldn't find any income. As it turns out Daddy dearest didn't file the appropriate paperwork so that the family would receive survivor's pension. I found the forms, filled them out and filed them by forging his signature."

Ranma stopped her, "You don't have to tell me, I know thinking about your mother is hard for you."

"You've changed some Ranma," She relaxed her arms and sat on the bench. "I might as well finish." He sat down beside her and looked at her expectantly, so she continued, "I got good at forging his signature but every time another bill came my heart raced and I had trouble breathing. Akane hurt herself one day; just a little scrape but Dr. Tofu patched her up. I started having a panic attack when I realized that we wouldn't have enough to pay him that month. He sent Akane to play in the waiting room and sat me down to talk. I swear that man can get anyone to tell him the truth, too bad he can't tell Kasumi the truth." She waved her hand dismissively, "Anyway, he taught me some tricks and I was to visit him anytime I was feeling stressed. He did the massage on me and only asked that I bring him lunch. Kasumi never asked why I wanted an occasional lunch for Dr. Tofu but she started making extra for him whenever she could. I think he fell in love with her cooking before he fell in love with her."

"And now your solution is to make money any way you can?"

She laughed and punched his arm, "That doesn't take a lot of brain power to that figure out."

"Fine, call the shots manager; let's go make us both some money."

"Ranma I think this could be the start of a beautiful scam."

"I am not pretending to be weak regularly for you but maybe we can work something out." He smirked at her and motioned to the papers in her hand, "Who am I embarrassing first?"

She handed him the pairing, "You know Akane isn't going to let you disappear with me to compete in tournaments all the time."

He looked at the name and look over the write up she had handed him as well, "So find some for girls too. She would probably love that and I figure it will build a name for the dojo again too."

"You are full of surprises today, both good and bad. Think you two are going to be able to run the dojo together?"

"Maybe," He scratched his head and though for a moment, "I mean she will probably attend University but no way will I pass the entrance exam. But winning tournaments… that is basically free advertising right?"

"You have a better head for business that you think."

They finally reached the staging area and Ranma was able to see the spectators as well as the other competitors. There were eight different mats each with a pair competing. It looked like the farthest area for him was primarily for lower skill levels while on the ones closest he saw other black belts. He had never formally ranked up through the belt system, so he wasn't sure how Nabiki got him in that group but he wasn't going to bother asking. There was also a central stage with one more mat but this one had ropes around it and was not currently in use. He assumed that would be for the final matches.

"Time for me to do my thing; they will send someone here to the staging area to call names for the matches. When they call yours, you will follow the person to your mat and meet your opponent." She left him there to wait his turn and started moving through the crowd. She could pick out the most likely candidates quickly and moved to entice a few more bets. She ran odds on all the pairings but it was easy to collect bets against the newcomer who freaked out in the locker room. She ran with it and adjusted the odds against Ranma.

Hayate Nakamura watched the lithe young woman work her way through the spectators. Bet placing and bet taking were standard issue at these events. He prided himself that odds were often calculated in his favor, if he didn't win the tournament then his less than scrupulous friend took the top prize. It had become a game between them to juggle the tournaments so that friends and associates of theirs benefitted from the outcome. Occasionally it was more fun to mess with bet placers that found themselves on the wrong side of one or both of their moods and make sure the pesky individuals walked away with far less yen lining their pockets.

His first round was complete and it was, as predicted, a very easy win. Dispatching the opponent is a few short minutes meant he had plenty of time to size up the new competition. A teenage boy with a black pigtail was being led to the floor. He had heard rumors of this new participant, someone with pre-fight jitters barely deserved his time but there were no fresh faces to watch. The pigtailed boy bowed and moved into a relaxed stance. Hayate watched his movements, which appeared graceful enough although they were nothing straining or difficult. The pair danced around each other for a while before the teen's opponent landed several blows against him. To the kids credit he did adjust his defenses and block additional incoming punches. His opponent was not the most skilled fighter but he was a veteran of this particular tournament and would likely outlast the younger rookie. Becoming bored with the fight Hayate returned to watching the girl. She must have taken some bets against the boy because she was watching that particular pair intently.

He saw a ghost of a smile cross her face before her cool expression settled back in place as several spectators around her groaned. She stood and moved about the crowd again paying out and collecting bets. She seemed to be collecting far more than she was paying out. Shifting his focus back to the match he saw that the pigtailed boy had managed to win. _Guess we will see how he does in the next round._

Ranma didn't think that Nabiki would have any complaints about his performance. It was monumentally boring to fight like that but it wasn't terrible letting people underestimate him. These people didn't need to know that he had faced off against much harder opponents with much higher stakes, or at the very least much crazier stakes. He found himself looking forward to the next round and hoped he wouldn't have to hold back as much against his next opponent.

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**AN:** Always I enjoy the reviews. R&R as you like. I have a healthy amount of the next chapter done so hopefully it will not be almost 2 weeks before I update again. I would love to get back to updating every 4 or 5 days.


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